Seldom do you see a character who is so totally amoralistic and every time he gets his butt handed to him (which is like, oh, every episode), you know that he fully earned his come-uppance, but you also find yourself cheering him on. Kanta Mizuno (our garbed hero in the center) is easily one of the three greatest perverts in anime history, and that is saying a lot. He is a mercenary, a ‘hero for hire’ and his ability to complete his job, in the face of insurmountable obstacles, has earned him the reputation of being good at what he does. But he’s still a loathsome punk and nobody likes him. If they found him face down in the desert, they would go through his pockets for loose change, then roll him over so the sun could bake his butt but good!
Japan has been reduced to a vast wasteland (referred to as “The Great Kanto Desert”), where people scratch out a meager living. Some cataclysmic event has triggered this ‘nuclear summer’ (for want of a better term), as ruined cities and relics from another time can be found. Kanta tries to do his job in this cauldron of hopelessness, but he has two distractions.
The first is Junko Asagiri (the vixen on the left). Now, you can’t see it here, but she has enormous breasts that Desert Punk is always making lewd and crude reference to and drifting into his salacious fantasies about them. Junko is no fool and uses those sand dunes of hers to manipulate the Punk to do her bidding during missions, then absconds with the rewards, leaving him high and dry. (more…)
There is often a complaint that anime is broken into two camps of female characters: the shrinking violet girl and the tough as nails woman. The problem I have with the Toughie is that there is nothing ever soft about them. They are cold and hard and angular, although, for this show, it is a requirement.
“Murder Princess” is about Princess Alita. Her father, the king of Forland, is killed in a coup, foisted by the country’s former leading scientist, Dr. Akamashi and his two robotic minions, Ana and Yuna. As dad dies, he sends out Alita to find her brother, Prince Kaito, who is leading a diplomatic excursion to another land.
As she tries to complete her mission, she falls off a cliff, pursued by evil forces, with the nortorious female bounty hunter, Falis, joining her in their descent into demise. This near-death experience causes them to switch bodies and Falis is able to dispatch some of the local nasties, along with HER two minions, Dominikov and Pete Armstrong, (the former is a kind of shikigami, the latter a strongman).
Alita begs of Falis to return to the castle and defeat the forces that have taken it, but Falis has more important things to do. There are castles to rob and noblemen to hold up and all kinds of treasures to plunder. However, in return for the services, Alita offers Falis her body and soul (now, whether you want to take this as a caliber of yaoi or mere servitude, that is up to you). (more…)
While Naruto has been the bane of my existence recently (the annoying recap/flashback spanning multiple episodes), if the producers were simply working on this movie then it was definitely all worth it. Naruto movies have always been noted for bring pretty good (can’t say the same about the OVA’s) and this one was no different. This movie revolves around…. Hey! Instead of a boring synopsis, as they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so heres a video/trailer for ya! (Watch in HQ)
[spoiler]
[/spoiler] As you can tell from the Trailer (assuming you watched it) Naruto gets accused of killing multiple people as well as for an assault on the Raikage resulting in him being sent to a shinobi prison. Now if you are an avid naruto fan throughout the the rest of this trailer your thoughts went something like this:
Of course poor goody goody Naruto couldn’t kill anyone so its clear he was framed but why? *pause* :O There seems so be something huge going on here *pause* :O Gamabunta (The Chief toad) was summonned which means there must be a really powerful enemy! *pause* :O Is that Killer Bee! *pause* OMG Sage Mode! *pause* ROARRRRR!!!! THIS IS GONNA BE EPIC! DOWNLOADD!! (or if you’re like me) WHERE CAN I STREAM THIS!!
Here’s another question I often get from other bloggers as well as a few acquaintances, “What made you like anime?”. And while I could go on about how anime has a greater ability to captivate and excite the viewer than ordinary shows/cartoons my answer is quite simple, Hayao Miyazaki. For those who have never heard of him before, he is the guy behind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howls Moving Castle among other works, all being brilliant anime masterpieces. When it comes to anime, this is the guy with the Midas Touch (everything he touches turns to gold). Now let’s get back to the question at hand, the first anime I had ever seen was Princess Mononoke, while flicking through channels (a very long time ago) I came across it and being used to the average run of the mill cartoons at the time I was hooked. The rush of emotion ranging from joy, sadness and anticipation had me enthralled from start to finish and from that moment I knew I had to find more movies like that, and so began my search that lead me to be the anime enthusiast I am today (Quite a long into huh?).
While I intend to review all Miyazaki’s movies, for today our target is Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic era where Industrial civilization has been destroyed by nature. And by nature I mean huge indestructible bugs pissed at humans after years of waging war and destroying the planet. And after those bugs are done wreaking havoc they simply lay there, die of exhaustion and from their body grows forth a forest, toxic to humans and practically every other animal that isn’t a “toxic-forest” insect. The remaining humans, slowly being wiped out by said forest gather in small communities, surviving by farming and possessing a mixture of ancient and modern technology. (more…)
Every so often, a show comes along that captivates and attracts and “Mushi-Shi” was that for me. From the very first episode, I was involved. Yes, it had the potential of turning into the “Monster of the Week”, but it was handled with such a deft hand that it never felt like that and, more importantly, you really connected with the characters who were in need.
The overall story is about Ginko, who is a Mushi Master. Mushi are beings with supernatural powers. Some are symbiotic, some are parasitic, but all are troublesome to some degree. His job, as he wanders the Japanof the late 19th century, is to help people who are afflicted with these Mushi. What makes things worse is that regular people cannot see them. Ginko is ‘gifted’ (and whether it is a gift or a curse is for you to decide), but he cannot stay too long in any area, as he becomes a magnet for them and things really get out of control as a dangerous amount of them throw things out of balance.
He carries on his back a wooden box which has all that he needs and jars to capture a few Mushi or remnants of them. He knows Adashino, a caliber of medicine man and scholar who wants these items. Oh, don’t let his constant smoking bother you; it is done to keep the Mushi at bay. (more…)
This certainly started out interestingly enough. We are in an Alternate Universe, where Man is the subservient creature, bending to the will of the Beasts. They are in a second-class citizenship status, not much more than how we treat animals. There are all grades of beasts, from those with human features, but the ears and tail, all the way up to full beasts. Into this mix, we find Kyrie Illunis (he’s in the number one slot), just your normal wolf-beast, slaving away at a local eatery. There are whispers afoot about a mysterious woman, Morte Asherah (number two slot), a member of the World Destruction Committee, who is in possession of the Destruct Code, a weapon of unbelievable power and fury, which has the might to destroy an entire planet, reducing it, and everyone and everything on it, to sand.
It is a busy lunch hour and Kyrie is bussing tables and slapping down food, when a hooded figure comes in, asking for a meal. As he serves her, the local constabulatory comes in and confronts his woman, who is no other than the aforementioned Morte. Angry that she spent the last of her money on a meal she cannot have, she takes Kyrie hostage, brandishing a huge sword blade. If she cannot go free, many will die, starting with Kyrie. At that point, Kyrie’s ears fall off. He was wearing a costume? He’s a human? Well, he needs a job. They fight their way free from the café, enlisting the help of Toppy Toplan (number six slot), who is a dwarf bear of incredible strength and power. In rescuing them, he also becomes part of the World Destruction Committee. (more…)
Hmmm so we continue off from episode 3, Louise is kidnapped and the Gallia army is heading towards Aqulieia with quite a bit of ships. Now I must admit, this episode was way too fast paced and regardless of the fact that there was quite a bit of action it left me feeling unfulfilled.
Heres everything in a nutshell, Saito rushes to save Louise with Tabitha, meanwhile on the Gallia’s army ship Joseph (Mister King of ignorance) uses the Founders Mirror to copy Louise’s power to himself, enabling him to use the explosion spell. Upon having the spell he begins using amplification ball-like objects to exponentially augment the explosive power. After setting off two, and destroying quite bit of his and the Aqulieia’s army in the process, he begins planning to send the final down to the heart of the city (i presume) to destroy it.
Why is he suddenly doing this? Here is where it got a bit ridiculous;
“I want to know how much damage I must inflict before i feel regret…… No matter how much land i gained or people i exceuted, I was never appeased….. This heart might finally be moved after seeing a city demolished” (more…)
Clocking in at a mere four episodes and an OVA, “Magical Play” is another in a long line of Magic Girl shows (like “Sasami” and “The Familiar of Zero”), but we have dual stories going on (actually, we have several story lines, but they are all kept nicely apart), although, as with much in life, they cross and intersect.
The main story involves Padudu (that’s the one wearing the fish. It is not a fish costume, it is a fish, Uokichi, kind of like her familiar). She wants to become a real Magical Girl on Earth (she comes from the land Sea Heaven) and to this end, she needs to gather 20 Flower Stars. These are earned by doing tournament battles with other magical girls. When you get the 20 stars (and have filled up your card), you may then proceed to the next level.
Sadly, when you wear a fish, you are subject to all kind of problems, such as being grabbed by a large hungry eagle who wishes to dine on you, which is how the show opens. Padudu manages to break free, but then plummets to the town below.
In the town, a tournament is being held and Pipin (that is the one on the far left) has just defeated another magical girl. However, before she can claim her prize, Padudu crashes upon her, knocks her out and Padudu gets awarded the Flower Star. Pipin spends the rest of her time trying to wrest the star back from Padudu. (more…)
Okay so to be honest nothing much happened in this episode, i mean if it was skipped i don’t think anyone would even notice that a chunk of the series is missing. Lets see what were the highlights of this episode, ah yes, we got to see the priestess getup (image above) and we found out Saito has.. some very weird perversions. I mean comeon… lemon-chan?
So one of the anime i decided to cover this season is Zero no Tsukamia F, from the start of episode one (ref. image above).. I would see this was going to be interesting to say the least (no comment on the fact Louise doesn’t seem to mind she isn’t the only one on that bed with Saito).
Now they pretty much went straight to the point here, Louise and Tiffania are summoned by the Pope who tells them that they are the Three Void Users and that the fate of Romalia is up to them, cool. Just like the previous seasons we have quite a bit of fighting for Saito with Louise being excessively headstrong, Tiffany insecure and Siesta well… being Siesta (clearly the better match here but she keeps helping out the Saito x Louise pair).
Well, if you loved the last 3 seasons you’ll like this one, pretty much the same feel just different adventure. But hey, its supposed to be the final season so lets hope we have some sort of a progression and a definite choice from Saito about whom he chooses (I so deteste open ended anime). Well, i suppose its worth a watch, njoy! (more…)
