What I just finished watching and what I thought about it 2 (USE SPOILER TAGS)

[Surise]

Seto no hanayome

Another project of eternity for me, I've watched one episode a month or so before I watched the last ten episodes pretty much in a row. It was alright, not a masterpiece but I got a few laughs, basic brainless high school comedy.

3/5

[sysmibmip]

Just finished Kokoro Connect. Wow. What can I say.
To think I avoided watching this because I thought it was K-ON!!...

That was some serious stuff. Yeah that sums up most of it.
Never seen such a "friendly" love triangle before! Deserves a medal for that.

4.5/5

[PinkyIvan]

Hmm I found everything after 1st arc very bad

[LizardLaw974]

Chobits

Review

Chi is Chi~

This anime was very sweet overall. While a little cliched from time to time, the story itself was very sweet and became emotional over time as I watched it. The animation was pretty fine, and the character designs were close to those in the manga, the sub was pretty good, and even though it could be a bit wooden, the dub wasn't bad either.

But a few things were not really solved in the end, so it was a bit strange ending on the note that it did.

Overall, it was a cute story.

3.5/5

[Surise]

Sekai-ichi hatsukoi

Well.. It's a typical BL series but I still rather enjoyed it, partially because I didn't need to think too much while watching. I'll probably consume the sequel in the near future as well.

2.5/5

[Berra2k]

Brave 10
This show went from an action anime with a cool main character to an ecchi harem anime WAY too fast. Sucks to suck brave 10, should kept with the cool ninja antics and ninja scroll like mythology instead of turning the show into a harem/ecchi.

[Zutto]

Originally Posted by LizardLaw974

Chobits

Review

Chi is Chi~

This anime was very sweet overall. While a little cliched from time to time, the story itself was very sweet and became emotional over time as I watched it. The animation was pretty fine, and the character designs were close to those in the manga, the sub was pretty good, and even though it could be a bit wooden, the dub wasn't bad either.

But a few things were not really solved in the end, so it was a bit strange ending on the note that it did.

Overall, it was a cute story.

3.5/5

This serie was my first 'real' anime. I remember i enjoyed it so much, mainly because i have never seen something like that. More animes followed very quickly :D.


I just finished Guilty Crown
I get a lot of mixed feeling with this one. Sometimes it was great, then it was fine, and then it dropped to frustration.
Overall it was a good show and i enjoyed it. Episode 15 was heartbreaking!

4/5

[Itoukaiji01]

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance

I always shudder a bit when I see an anime based on a popular western franchise. The result is rarely anything watchable. Just look at the various marvel anime for examples of how this can go wrong. So when I see a Highlander anime movie from 2007, over 20 years after the only good movie in the franchise I didn't set my expectations very high. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It's not only a decent movie but it's probably more worthy of being a Highlander movie than any of the sequels to the original 1986 movie. It may have been set in a dystopian future, but at least it didn't tell me the immortals are ancient aliens or have previously decapitated immortal come back for cameo's (Serious fuck Highlander II). Instead Highlander: Search for Vengeance is more a return to the cheesy immortal battles of the first movie, along with the staple flashbacks to the past.

However, as much as this feels like a Highlander movie, it also isn't. There isn't a focus on the being the last immortal standing or winning the prize, instead this is millennia spanning story of revenge. The plot of movie is really simple, Collin MacLeod (not to be confused with Conner MacLeod) has spent all his immortal life trying to get revenge on the man that murdered his wife. There are various subplots about viruses, vaccines and an evil empire but those all end up being feeling inconsequential in end.

While the plot of the movie is indeed very basic and without many unexpected turns it's kept fresh by the flashbacks which follow the two immortals through the years as MacLeod chases after the immortal that murdered his wife. We have flash backs to many historical backdrops from the sacking of Rome to Medieval Japan to World War I. This constant shifting scenery give the tired plot a breath of fresh air even if these sequences rely on a ridiculous series of contrivances to make sure that MacLeod keeps his head despite fighting an older, more powerful immortal. However, these sequences also take advantage of Highlander mythology as set up in the first movie and it's these segments that feel the most like a Highlander movie.

That's not to say the plot is exactly a bed of roses however. It's extremely cheesy and there are moments of stupid dialogue and contrivances everywhere. Now if you're like me these moments actually made the movie more enjoyable. While the original Highlander movie holds a special place in my childhood that movie is no cinematic masterpiece and is full of it's own dumb moments and contrivances. If anything the sometimes silly dialogue of Vengeance just gave me a touch of nostalgia right up to the climatic battle that ends the movie on a satisfying note.

The characters don't quite fare as well as the plot of the movie. I think the biggest failure here was with Collin MacLeod, he's boring. He's your typical taciturn badass type but when compared to the smirking, playful swagger and charisma that Christopher Lambert brought to the role of Conner MacLeod in the 1986 movie is completely absent from his animated counterpart. For much of the movie Collin comes off as a single minded asshole obsessed with revenge even after two thousand years. I don't mind a flawed or misguided protagonist, but Collin is lacking in any kind charisma and even his half hearted development by the end of the movie just felt kind of random.

The rest of the cast fit their roles but didn't leave much of an impression. The villain was fine as the villain even if I wish he'd gotten more screen time because he was honestly much more interesting than Collin. The villain was an immortal that used his immortal like to do things no mortal could ever accomplish because they don't have enough time. Sure, he was trying to create an evil empire as well, but at least he seemed like he was having fun while doing it which is more than I can say for the always scowling Collin. There was also a random druid spirit that hooked onto Collin as his spirit guide and a hooker with a heart of gold that falls in love with Collin because the script said so, but you'll forget about both ten minutes after the movie is over.

Which brings us to movie's biggest failing the soundtrack and it's lack of Queen. If there's anything anyone remembers about Highlander it was the rocking 80s soundtrack with Queen's Princes of the Universe being the movie's theme song. Instead Vengeance settles for a generic and forgettable rock soundtrack. The animation, on the other hand, is pretty damn good and exactly what you'd expect from a MADHOUSE production.

In conclusion Highlander is a decent way to spend an hour and twenty minutes. It manages to be a more worthy successor to the first Highlander movie than any of the sequels while still be accessible to non-Highlander fans, something that can't be said of most of the other sequels in the franchise which punish you for no taking notes while watching every other movie in the franchise plus the TV series. And it's also an enjoyable movie in it's own right. If you like a healthy dose of cheese in you anime then give this movie a shot. 7 out of 10

[LizardLaw974]

Perfect Blue

Holy crap...

And here I thought Paprika was as mindf*cking as it was going to get
But this...

This was an explosion of epicness and mindf*ckery that left me speechless.

Animation: Despite this being from 1997, the animation was very fluent and really detailed in quality. Each of the characters were well animated and so detailed that it looked like real people, just a little anime-fied, much like in Satoshi Kon's other works.

Music: Creepy. O___O. 'Nuff said.
The music was the correct tone when it needed to be, and I must say, became exceptionally creepy during the screwy scenes. I can't say that it was exactly "memorable", but it fit really well for this kind of project.

Voice Track: I watched it in dubbed form because it was an Animaze dub, and I wanted to test it out to see how it was. And to my surprise, it was excellent. They do a very good job with emotion in their characters, especially Bridget Hoffman and Wendee Lee.

Characters: A little trickier because at one point

I was unsure of who was Mima and who was Rumi and who was Mima the pop star and god it could go on forever...

But the characters ranged from likable to the most hated characters in the entire film, but I believe that was the movie's intention; to make you judge who you really felt for in this movie and who you wanted to kill.

Story: Much like Paprika, this movie focused on the merging of reality and illusion, and did it in a more psychological tone. While Paprika focused on dream terrorism and the way it blurred the lines of reality and illusion, Perfect Blue focuses more on the psychology from within, from one's paranoia and mental trouble and stress, and how the character reacts and deals with it. But, much like Kon's other films, the story starts to get meshed together and out of control, yet eventually comes together to make sense somewhat, if not all around.

Overall, freaky movie but god I loved it!

4.5/5

[valondar]

Originally Posted by LizardLaw974

Perfect Blue

Holy crap...

And here I thought Paprika was as mindf*cking as it was going to get
But this...

Satoshi Kon.

If there's Satoshi Kon anime you haven't watched (these two titles, Paranoia Agent, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, his short in Memories) then you can guarantee yourself some good anime by watching it.

Animation: Despite this being from 1997, the animation was very fluent and really detailed in quality. Each of the characters were well animated and so detailed that it looked like real people, just a little anime-fied, much like in Satoshi Kon's other works.

IIRC it was originally going to be a direct-to-VHS OVA, but the quality of the work upscaled it to a feature. It's definitely the least expensive looking of Kon's anime but since it is Kon yes, it does look lovely.