Site Reviewer Recruitment Drive - Apply Here!

[cassiesheepgirl]

OK, my exact words as I type this are:

"Fuck it, I won't know til I try."

Anyway, I'm submitting the following reviews:

UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie - Overall Score: 1.5/10
Black Jack 21 - Overall Score: 6.5/10

Extra Requested Review: Prince of Tennis - Overall Score: 8/10

(Note: I already posted the Black Jack one in the reviews forum ages back, but I went back and edited it based on feedback, so this is the new edit I'm posting now.)


UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie:

Story: 1/10

When a buxom young female alien crash-lands in the middle of a bathhouse, it’s a pretty clear sign than some ecchi fun will follow. Throw in a bumbling male lead and as many shots of nude aliens – particularly nude female aliens – in the bath as you can get away with, and you’re set; let the entertainment commence! Unfortunately, this is where UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie falls flat on its face. Valkyrie takes a relatively simple and foolproof concept and manages to make twelve of the most irritating episodes of anime I have had the misfortune to watch.

UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie centres on Kazuto, a quiet high-school boy who runs a bathhouse, and Valkyrie, a princess from the planet Valhalla. Kazuto happily goes about his daily business, until Valkyrie arrives. Not only does she crash into the bathhouse, but also manages to kill Kazuto in the process. In order to save his life, the guilt-ridden Valkyrie gives Kazuto half of her soul. However this process has an unfortunate side effect; it turns Valkyrie into a child again! Kazuto then begins to live with child Valkyrie. To add to the fun, Valkyrie’s personal maid, cat-girl Sanada, and her younger sister Hydra – who also became a child after her powers were sealed – followed Valkyrie.

The majority of the twelve episodes of UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie are essentially pointless filler, with the main plot only dealt with in the last episode and a portion of the penultimate episode. Needless to say, the entire thing feels ridiculously rushed as if the production crew had completely forgotten that they were supposed to include some kind of story within the series. One could argue that the rest of the episodes demonstrate a development of the central relationship. Regrettably I fail to see how an entire episode of Sanada transforming half of the female population into cat-girls shows the progression of the relationship between Kazuto and Valkyrie.


Animation: 1.5/10

I can only assume that UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie had a very small budget to work with, as that would actually explain the poor animation displayed in this series. Boasting movement that is far from smooth, I would have expected more from an anime of this era. Valkyrie also suffers from an over-reliance on the re-use of shots, in particular the two images used to show the bathhouse environment. Such obvious repetition not only highlights one of the many failings of this series, but also threatens to incite a feeling of “if I see that banana alien with his towel once more, I will kick a puppy.”

The only semi-reasonable section of animation displayed in Valkyrie is that of the forty-second transformation sequence. Even then, it is far from impressive and drags on for much too long. Though on the bright side any time taken up with the transformation results in a few less seconds that I have to stare at the clunky animation or Hydra’s sunburnt skin. The latter I can only imagine can only be the result of an accident that occurred while mixing the colour for her skin.


Sound: 1.5/10

Best described as ‘Happy-bubbly-cheesy-pop’, the opening theme to Valkyrie proves as generically awful as the rest of the series. In fact I would rather drink a pint of said cheese-flavoured soda pop than sit through the opening more than once. The ending song meanwhile simply falls into that grubby little box in the corner that’s half-heartedly labelled ‘forgettable’.

Aside from the attempted nod at Wagner’s ‘Ride of the Valkyries’, which merely serves to throw in our faces once again that someone is able to access Wikipedia and research Norse mythology, the rest of the score remains unremarkable.


Characters: 1/10

I don’t necessarily expect much from my characters in any kind of ecchi or harem show. I especially don’t anticipate much from the male lead, who generally exhibits as much personality as a tissue and has the emotional depth of a raisin. However, this lack of expectation allows Valkyrie its only chance to shine. I present to you, Kazuto: the most vapid, flat and crushingly vacant male lead I have ever seen on screen. Kazuto’s role in the majority of the series can be summed up as follows: Kazuto stands around smiling and under-reacts to every bizarre situation foisted upon him. Then Valkyrie kisses him so she can transform, before Kazuto continues to stand around smiling a bit more. Even his supposed impassioned speech at the end of the series displays less emotion than your average politician.

The rest of the cast also struggle to leave much of a lasting impression. I would often find myself struggling to remember some of the supporting characters names because I simply just did not care.


Overall: 1.5/10

Ecchi may not be to everyone’s tastes, but if, like myself, you like the occasional fun romp in the world of panty shots and big breasts, I would certainly advise that you steer clear of UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie. Maybe ecchi connoisseurs would be able to find some positive aspects, but I couldn’t. Half of the time I was praying that Valkyrie would display just one lone redeeming feature and the other half contemplating whether or not staring at my lava lamp solidly for four hours would be a better use of my time. If you are looking for a decent ecchi series with a good plot, then you’re in the wrong place. Instead, turn around and go through that door on the right because there are far better titles out there that don’t make such a half-assed attempt at entertaining the general populace.

_____________________________________________


Black Jack 21:


Story: 5.5/10


Best described as the bastard love child of a rather dodgy soap opera and a James Bond film, Black Jack 21 is the latest instalment of Osamu Tezuka’s popular franchise. The premise is simple; Black Jack becomes the target of a group of assassins hired by a mysterious corporation and, with only a single photo as a clue, he sets off on a worldwide journey to discover who wants him dead and why.

With conspiracies abound and some interesting – if not predictable – plot turns, the storyline remains entertaining throughout, though sometimes difficult to take seriously. While plenty of action is not necessarily a bad thing, Black Jack often finds himself in situations best left to 007 rather than an unlicensed surgeon. Although the Black Jack franchise is not known for particularly plausible plots, the inclusions of scenes such as Black Jack scaling the outside of a plane mid-flight truly push the boundaries of believability. Mix this with the sort of familial conflict and shocking revelations that are more at home in a daytime soap opera, and the product is a bizarre creation wavering on the boundary of becoming utterly laughable.

The inclusion of an actual plotline makes a pleasant change from the usual episodic content, which the rest of the franchise tends to rely on, where Black Jack swoops in to save the day. However die-hard fans need not fear – expect plenty of ‘swooping’ to be had in this chapter of the Black Jack series.


Animation: 7/10

Black Jack 21 follows the visual style that you would expect to see from any Osamu Tezuka creation, complete with the character designs heavily influenced by 1920’s western animation. Though the movement is relatively polished, I find the constant use of static images with dramatic ‘action lines’ (which has become a standard in the Black Jack series) somewhat unimaginative. As with many other more recent anime a small amount of CG has been included. However it seems just as obvious as Black Jack’s scars, and often serves little more purpose than enabling the use of sweeping and supposedly dramatic camera movements.


Sound: 6/10

The sound design in Black Jack 21 serves its purpose of heightening the drama of certain scenes. However during the more ridiculous ‘dramatic’ scenes, the over-the-top score merely makes the scenario seem all the more laughable and, as such, becomes somewhat of a double-edged sword. Though neither overly outstanding nor memorable, both the opening and ending themes fit in with the mood of the series.

Reprising his role as title character, voice actor Akio Ohtsuka provides a stellar performance. Showcasing his ability to express the desperation and motivation required for the situation in which Black Jack finds himself, Ohtsuka’s performance adds a slight plausibility to a sometimes far-fetched plot.


Characters: 8/10

During this series Black Jack goes on both a long physical journey and a mental one. Discovering the secrets behind his past, Black Jack 21 provides an excellent chance to develop the main protagonist - and it does not disappoint. To see a character such as Black Jack, who often shows little emotion, reliving his painful past and learning about what was truly behind the tragic events of his childhood comes as a refreshing change and provides quite possibly the highlight of the series.

Black Jack 21 also introduces an array of new characters, though with most appearing in one or two episodes, only a select few are really developed. However, those that are explored in more depth are accorded a good amount of development and their own personal journey. This selection of more developed secondary characters, and the demonstration of the consequences that befall those surrounding the protagonist, easily breathes more life into a series in a way that the other instalments of the franchise failed to achieve.


Overall: 6.5/10

Going into this series expecting a truly gripping thriller of a plot would be a mistake. To forgive the seemingly ridiculous moments scattered throughout the series, Black Jack 21 should be viewed as a fairly light-hearted series with a decent plotline and some cheesy, over-the-top action. It is certainly easy watching without being utterly pointless and it manages to throw in some reasonable character development to boot. Fans of the Black Jack series will most likely find this highly enjoyable, and anyone new to the franchise may well find it more entertaining than they imagined.

_____________________________________________

Here's a third review as requested. Free of feedback. :)

Prince of Tennis


Story: 7.5/10

History is brimming with monumental battles, Nelson versus Napoleon, the Greeks against the Trojans, and apparently any high school tennis match featuring Ryoma Echizen. Prince of Tennis manages to take a simple concept – a high school tennis tournament – and create a wonderfully over-the-top comedic romp into the world of sport.

Prince of Tennis follows the Seigaku tennis club and their bid to make it to the Junior National Tournament Finals. At the centre of the plot resides Ryoma Echizen, a freshman tennis prodigy. Returning to Japan after spending four years in America, Ryoma manages to not only wow the seniors at Seigaku, but also easily secures a place as a regular – something utterly unheard of for a freshman. With their new ace player in place, the club begin their quest to conquer the regional champtionships.

Certainly, whatever excitement Prince of Tennis lacks in its basic premise, it more than makes up for in pure entertainment and spectacle. Following in the footsteps of a shounen standard more often seen in the likes of Naruto or Bleach, Seigaku’s regulars demonstrate an array of impressive but entirely outrageous new moves. As expected, these moves always emerge at the most crucial point of any given match. Naturally the majority of the plot does become somewhat predictable, though I still found myself highly anticipating the revelation of Ryoma’s latest technique.

Prince of Tennis only manages to get away with such exorbitant styles of play for one simple reason: it never once takes itself too seriously. Had it tried to become a serious series about sport then Prince of Tennis would have most likely failed on every level imaginable. However alongside the humorous exchanges between the Seigaku members; the ridiculous training camps; and Inui’s special vegetable juice; it is possible to forgive the odd boomerang shot or shattered tennis racquet.


Animation: 8/10

Prince of Tennis boasts impressive animation during the match sequences. In particular some of the close up shots demonstrate a more realistic movement than I had expected, as outside of the matches the animation remains fairly standard. However, with the majority of the series devoted to the games in which Seigaku participate, this is not a major problem.

By pouring more effort into match sequences, the animation heightens the intensity of what become almost epic battles. Whether displaying the power of one of Momo’s ‘Dunk Smashes’, or the flexibility of Eiji’s acrobatics, each difference in play style is dealt with effectively, to the point where even the most ludicrous ideas seem more believable.


Sound: 6/10

Alongside the often-cheesy plotline comes an equally cheesy score. Including suitably over-dramatic music for the intense matches and light, bouncy harmonies for more comical moments, Prince of Tennis’s score performs its duty effectively. However, even though the score fits with the series, it feels as if few risks were taken and instead the safer, more generic path was chosen. Completing the soundtrack are a myriad of opening and ending themes that, while moderately catchy, leave little lasting impression.

Overall, the voice acting was decent, and there is little to complain about. However, kudos does go to the actor who voiced Horio. The blaring and almost nasal voice attributed to him, served only to make Horio (and his two years of tennis experience) all the more irritating – a perfect fit to the character.


Characters: 8.5/10

Including characters from other competing schools, Prince of Tennis boasts a large cast. While Ryoma remains the central protagonist, he is not the sole focus. For example, the other Seigaku regulars are accorded plenty of development; from the problems and injuries they face, to the creation of their new match-winning techniques. Although central focus always inevitably shifts back to Ryoma at some point, often Prince of Tennis feels more like an ensemble series, which serves to add an extra interest factor. This allows Prince of Tennis to become something more worthy of viewing instead of falling into a realm of mediocrity entitled: ‘The story of Ryoma Echizen’.

Even the secondary characters such as the students from Hyotei and Fudomine enjoy more development and screen time than would be found in any average shounen series. By exploring the personal stories and the improvement behind the opponents as well as those of the protagonists, each match is given an added depth. Though the majority of these reasons are corny, by knowing why each character must win this particular bout, Seigaku’s opponents develop into more than just faceless rivals; they become characters in their own right.


Overall: 8/10

The almost satirical quality that Prince of Tennis demonstrates throughout becomes without a doubt its greatest strength. Providing pure entertainment by mixing a large portion of comedic content with matches of almost epic proportions, Prince of Tennis is ideal viewing for those looking to kick back and relax. Hardcore tennis fans may well find Prince of Tennis a little too on the ridiculous side, but take it as it is and even those who – like me – aren’t necessarily fans of the sports genre could find themselves enjoying this playful series.

[VivisQueen]

All applicants up to this point have received decisions.

[isaacphantom]

Hi There brand new here and here are my reviews!
These are completely opinionated and would love to here some feedback good or bad.

ToraDora - Overall 9.5/10
Samurai Champloo - Overall 8/10



ToraDora

Story: 8.5/10
The story follows Ryuji Takasu, who though a gentle guy to those who know him, his eyes give him a bad image as the baddest deliquent/troublemaker in school. With many scared faces staring the whole way through, Ryuji enters his second year of high school, and is happy to get a class with his best and only close friend Yusaku Kitamura aswell as the girl he likes, Minori Kusheida. Though everything is looking like the start of a normal year, he runs into, Taiga Aisaka. Like Ryuji, Taiga, to the rest of the school, is a deliquent and a bully and someone you dont want to mess with. Unlike Ryuji, she actually is.

When the 2 meet, they immediately hate eachother. Taiga comes from a very wealthy family whose house overshadow's Ryuji's , which like his family is unwealthy. Ryuki hates her house for blocking out the sun as well as being rich in general. Taiga's reason for living there is to get away from the stress of the family issues she has.

One day, Taiga finds out Ryuji likes Minori, who happens to be her best friend. Also on the same day, Ryuji finds out Taiga likes Yusaku who is his best friend. The two of them deside to make an alliance to help eachother get the person they love. They also pledge to make eachother's image better than it is now. As time passes by, Ryuji and Taiga spend alot of time with each other and become very close. Taiga opens herself to Ryuji in a way most people dont see and Ryuji begins to consider Taiga as part of his family. As they become closer thier friends begin spreading rumors about the two of them, opinions begin to change, and the amazing love story that is ToraDora, unravels.

Animation:9/10
From the very first episode the animation is very smooth. All scenes bring great detail and bright colors to the settings as well as the characters. There is especially great detail on the characters especially in scenes of running or fights. Settings bring some uniqueness yet realness to the city/town they live in. Overall it all feels very real, smooth, and detailed the whole way through.

Sound: 9/10
What really draws you in from the very beginning is the Opening theme, which one of the catchiest intros ive heard in an anime ever. The episodes have great music as well. A very modern electric, poppy soundtrack, which can be really catchy, but at the same time set the mood for a sad scene. The ending themes are just as great as the openings, and sometimes when a cliffhanger is thrown in, it really helps the episode sink in as you think about what just happened.

Characters: 10/10
Though you may have seen all of these characters before,this anime executes those characters very well. Each character has a great personality but also internal problems which, imo is a great balance. Even the happiest character has some of the worst problems in the anime and all the love interests (main characters) usually have one problem that just snaps. With all of these personalities, you cant help but align yourself with one character and say "HEY thats me!" but unlike most anime that makes you do that, you actually fight for your character because you want him/her to win. (idk, maybe my own personal expieriences)

Overall: 9.5/10
One of the most, if not the most overly exploited genres in anime is the Love Story. And nowadays very few stand out as most follow the same general premis of Boy Meets Girl, Boy Falls In Love With Girl, etc. ToraDora is not that anime. With very unique and different characters all intertwined in some way, ToraDora actually pulls you in and makes you debate over who looks cute together. Aside from bringing something different and unique to the table , it also add's a layer of realism, as most of these situations could happen and this love story isnt always so happy. In fact it doesnt really get mushy-gushy until the very end. It honestly made me awe at the end, something i havent done in a while for an anime.

With a great cast of characters, a realistic setting, very smooth animations, and a few twist and turns, ToraDora is a fantastic anime and very well executed. A fantastic anime for anyone looking for a good love story.

EDIT: Just finished reading the guidelines, and this is one of my favorite animes ever.

next review on the next post!

[isaacphantom]

Application continued!!!

Samurai Champloo Overall:8/10

Story: 7.5/10
3 people, who were virtually unconnected in the past come together in something a little more than faith and coincedence for a long journey to find a certain samurai. Mugen, a rowdy samurai with a lazy laid-back personality, Jin, a desciplined samurai with a past he wishes to forget and Fuu, a young girl searching for some personal closure with her father. Mugen and Jin meet in a fight and promise to kill each other but in the process burn down the restaurant they fight in. When arrested, the penalty is execution at the sunrise. Fuu , who watched the whole thing, as well as worked in the restaurant at the time of the battle, breaks into the jail to try and break them out. She fails to, and has to run away, as the 2 samurai's are carried to thier deaths. With some quick thinking Fuu runs to go buy bombs to make a way out. As Fuu is out, the 2 just before death, go into one of the coolest action sequences ever. As they show off their skills, killing masses of guards, Fuu appears at the roof and throws two bombs in the air. The distraction lets Mugen and Jin escape, as they blend in with all the civilians coming out of the exit.

The 2 are about to go at it again, promising they will be the one to kill the other, just as they are about to go at it, Fuu stops them both and says they owe her for her saving them. The two keep thier attention as Fuu makes a proposition. She will flip a coin and if its heads they must accompany her as bodyguards and if tails they may fight it out as long as they want. It lands on heads and Mugen and Jin reluctantly lay thier swords down and agree to accompany Fuu to find...."The Samurai Who Smells Like Sunflowers" this triggers a story of the growing friendship between them, the dark pasts they each have, and the adventure that is Samurai Champloo.

Its executed very well, but the plot slowly trickles into your usual samurai or adventure story. Friends get closer, a bad guy has been tracking them, etc. What it does right however, is bring alot of unique stories on thier trip to Nagasaki from the origin of spray paint and tagging, to a extremely amazing baseball game. Either way the story, though not original, is executed well and is very unique.

Animation: 8/10

The animation is fluid and smooth for the most part of the run. There is a great amount of detail in the environments and settings for the anime and also an interesting combination of colors that help make the scene. The character designs help define who they are and are very detailed to an extent. Where the anime really shines animationwise is its fantastic action sequences, especially towards the end. They are very beautiful to watch and make alot of moves that look amazing but other wise impossible. One character I found very well done in fight sequences was Mugen, who's motions incorporated some bboying into his movements as well as an unpredictable way of moving and fighting. This is the complete opposite to Jin who is just pure disciplined badass. He's very quick and thoughtful of his moves and does them very smoothly and with ease.

Sound: 7.5/10
As most people know, this anime is the second work of Watanabe who made the great anime Cowboy Bebop. Cowboy Bebop had a fantastic soundtrack which really fit and made the anime. Not just the theme song but everything about the soundtrack alone was fantastic and imo the definition of cool.

Samurai Champloo does this but not to the 10/10 extent of its older brother. Watanabe does definately catch a different kind of cool with this as the soundtrack holds a kind of modern,gangsta jazz feel to it, however it doesnt do it as well Cowboy Bebop. The opening and ending themes are definite highlights of the anime and the soundtrack does achieve the feel of the anime but it doesnt MAKE the anime. Cowboy Bebop's soundtrack could be considered a whole character to the anime that helped make it what it is, whereas Samurai Champloo, though achieving the feel doesnt make the anime as well as the characters and settings do. The music is still top-notch just a step down from its musical alumni.

Characters:8/10
This is not the first time we have seen these characters but like Cowboy Bebop they are executed in a way that makes them great, a way that is only Watanabe. What breaks it from reaching a 9/10 is the lack of character development in the first half of the series. Aside from occasional flashbacks, the characters do not develop till somewhere before the end.

Overall: 8/10
Overall though it achieves the success of emersing you into the world of Samurai Champloo as it did previously, its not as well done as Cowboy Bebop. This does not take anything away from the anime itself its just the fact that it rivals such a masterpiece. Also, I believe that Watanabe intended to do that for his next project. He new that Cowboy Bebop left such a huge impact on the anime community and probably knew it would be hard to top it. So instead of trying, he just had fun with this anime. Which is what it ultimatey is : Alot of Fun. It doesnt try to compete with anyone, it just gives you a great ride that isnt completely mindless but also isnt too serious to make you lose interest.

Overall a great anime done by the great director of Cowboy Bebop, that achieves a certain level of greatness without competing to outdo its brother. Though definitely flawed it is fantastic either way.



APPLICATION COMPLETED!!! I hope you liked it and feel free to comment, i take very well to critism for i feel it makes me stronger.

[VivisQueen]

All applicants up to this point have received decisions.

[CrazyAce01]

I've finished overhauling my Gurren Lagann review, and finished my Hellsing review from scratch! I read the reviews on the site to get a differing opinion, and I bet you'll be happy to find that I share yours very closely on Gurren Lagann, VivisQueen.

We do differ on one major point... don't hate me for it! However this turns out, I look forward to the feedback.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - 7.9/10
Hellsing - 6.5/10


Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Story (7.9/10)

This 27-episode anime was rather uninteresting for the first third. I feared that I had been trapped by my self-indulgence into yet another drivel-driven shonen, but then this anime suddenly leaped up beyond all my expectations. While settling into a small rut towards the end, the story surpassed many of my predictions and made for the best shonen and mecha I have seen in quite some time. While not escaping the drawbacks of the shonen genre entirely, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann did a great job of defying them in a meaningful way. It has certainly carved itself a small, unique niche in the world of over-saturated gunk that is all too often shonen anime.

All shonen settle into a “little engine that could” story in some form or another, and Gurren Lagann did the same at the outset. This central theme certainly dominates it without question, but Gurren Lagann puts a unique spin on it with a shockingly (for a shonen) realistic event. The ever-pleasant world of shonen often depicts events unfolding without any hiccup. By the time the end finally rolls around, everyone is living happily ever after, all the love interests together. Gurren Lagann is brave enough to say that sometimes, life isn’t fair, and things just don’t work out the way you want them to, even with the power of love and friendship on your side. I applaud their efforts.

However, despite my heavy praise, Gurren Lagann has two notable failures that keep it firmly in “7” territory. The first: you have to slug through some very boring sections at times. I was actually on the brink of dropping it, my patience worn thin, when it finally went into high gear and reeled me back in. Despite how much I ended up liking it, all its positives are no excuse for wasting my time with crap. 3 or 4 episodes could have easily been cut without any loss in character development, and those few tested the limits of my patience sorely. Perhaps others will enjoy the over-the-top humor and random antics that made them borderline fillers. I found them neither funny nor interesting.

The second major annoyance that bothered me was the development of the powers the characters used to fight with. Upgrades in fighting strength were achieved by a combination of dumb luck and inexplicable scientific advancements. The troop is literally in the middle of a wasteland with nothing to eat when the genius of the group unveils fully automated spiderbots… that do nothing particularly useful. Every time the characters are backed into a corner, they remember everything they are fighting for and then miraculously unleash the trademark of shonen: magical-willpower-strength-magic-power. Even the best of shonen seem unable to escape this philosophy, but Gurren Lagann in particular almost abuses it. Later on in the series, things get very sci-fi, but all this technology remains unexplained. In an extremely short time humanity essentially goes from about our present day to super-futuristic technology with no adequate explanation even attempted. The quick development is even mentioned, but given no justification. Nothing irks me more than enormous plot holes. To put this in perspective for the potential viewer, we literally see the level of technology rise from manually digging in the dirt to make tunnels to biological supercomputers. Come again? Even for a shonen, the genre of impossible power-ups, this is just asinine.

Gripes aside, the story was excellent for a shonen. Unexpected twists and truly touching messages made this an unexpected winner. Carry on through the occasional muck, especially at the beginning, and you will be rewarded with a surprisingly emotional and deep story that touches on a variety of interesting topics, such as love, loyalty, and the strength to face an intimidating future with courage.

Animation (8.5/10)

If you enjoy eye-popping explosions, than look no further, because in Gurren Lagann seemingly everything that exists is capable of blowing up in a “WTFBOOM”-level mushroom cloud, and those are the small ones. I found myself rewinding just to see an epic explosion one more time. In fact, I found myself rewinding and pausing to study several scenes more than once in this anime.

Character animations were great. Not too much to say here – everyone looked the part quite well, occasionally minor characters being a tad bland. You’ll certainly get some substantial fanservice with Yoko, one of the female leads, but it is always done in a pretty funny and self-conscious manner, so it isn’t obnoxiously obtrusive for the more conservative viewer (most of the time).

I’m a big fan of color schemes that are attached to characters and certain messages throughout an anime. Death Note is an excellent example of this – lights and shading are always used to create an undeniably immersive effect; there are those dramatic moments when the eyes of opposing characters meet and the background “auras” seem to clash against each other. Gurren Lagann also uses this technique to great effect, creating some surprisingly inspiring and intense moments that had me enthralled. I guarantee you will be dazzled at least once watching this anime.

Sound (7.7/10)

The best parts of Gurren Lagann’s soundtrack were the opening and closing tracks, especially the opener. I sat and watched the opener at least every other episode just because I enjoyed it so much. Other than that, it was all pretty standard; nothing particularly caught my ear. An excellent job of matching music to scenes was done; quiet, dramatic moments were appropriately silent, with only dialogue, while other times saw grand battle themes clash with giant explosions. The opener was good enough to push my rating up a bit, but nothing in the show was ear-shatteringly spectacular.

The voice acting is what really shined. Every character was well voiced, Gurren Lagann thankfully avoiding the whining male lead pitfall which would have easily killed this anime. Each character certainly had a distinctive and unique voice, especially the main supporting character, Kamina, who was voiced exceedingly well, despite my utter hatred of him.

Characters (7.5/10)

With one exception that I will comment on shortly, the characters of Gurren Lagann were quite spectacular. I didn’t expect much; characters in a shonen are often hurried along with quick introductions and just enough background to make you care, only to “hold down the fort” against the grunt army while the main character fights the main villain. Gurren Lagann wasted no space with its characters. People I quickly wrote off as flat pieces of cardboard were eventually fleshed out later in the series. Against all odds, Gurren Lagann continually reused its cast, refusing to just drop anyone out of the picture. Everyone who is anyone in Gurren Lagann has not only a big role but a truly meaningful role at that. It was quite a pleasant surprise.

The lead character, Simon, is developed exceedingly well. Simon is certainly a weak character to begin with, but this is justified and reasonable; he has his definite flaws and lives in the shadow of the main supporting character, Kamina. Simon, through the course of the anime, goes on an intriguing journey discovering a purpose and a sense of self that anyone who lives can relate to. It is one of the most complete and fleshed out character developments I’ve come across, and certainly one worth appreciating by any anime fan.

My favorite character from the series is Viral. He is the first real villain the heroes must fend off, but subsequent developments shows he has much more meaningful motivations than mindlessly obeying his superiors. I won’t say more, but be sure to keep an eye on him if you take up the series.

The reason that Gurren Lagann does not score more points in this area is due to a single character: Kamina. Oh, how I hate him. Take your generic shonen: Naruto, Bleach, what have you. Take all of the speeches, monologues, and “we can do it with the power of love and friendship” rubbish out of them, and shove it all into one character. This is Kamina. He had no less than 26.7 speeches per episode. He is completely essential to the story, and occasionally he surprised me with a touching moment – but he is also a seemingly endless fountain of idiocy and mediocrity. He easily could have been much different, much better, and still played the same role. Some will love his devil-may-care attitude, constant out-of-control antics, and mindless drivel. I did not. If I go to hell, I will wake up chained next to Kamina endlessly monologuing about how my destiny will pierce the heavens. There is having the confidence to believe in yourself, and then there is mindless recklessness that doesn’t even make any sense – and Kamina crossed that line. He certainly has personality, at the very least.

Overall (7.9/10)

Despite the most annoying character ever (EVER) and the inevitable shonen stereotypes, Gurren Lagann does a bang up job. I was bored and annoyed at times, but overall it had some great moments that really had me captivated. And just for emphasis, the explosions were awesome. This needs to be qualified: don't forget that it is good for an action flick. Gurren Lagann was really pushing for an 8 from me, but couldn’t quite get there on action scenes and characters alone, especially with the black spot named Kamina. However, I give it an excellent recommendation to any fan of shonen, mecha, or action-adventure, and only a slightly less enthusiastic recommendation to anime fans in general. Relax and don’t pay attention to the plot holes, and you'll be in for a surprisingly emotional good time.

Edit:

Small error, I italicized only the Gurren Lagann portion of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in my first paragraph.

[CrazyAce01]

Hellsing

Story (6.9/10)

Hellsing is an strange mix of excellent and terrible. There were some things I loved, and yet others that I hated. The characters really made the story, with the plot being a generic action movie standard, albeit with vampires. However, considering the characters, this means the story jumped between jaw-dropping awesome sauce and boring crud – and I’ll get to more of that later on.

The setting of the whole anime was actually quite fascinating. The action centers on the Hellsing organization, a secret vampire-fighting force run by the noble Hellsing family. The organization started around 100 years ago and maintains a dated but endearing sense of honor and loyalty to the crown. The portrayal of the secret underground of British government was excellent; anyone interested in British history will appreciate it. You will see everything from a modern day round table made up of the leaders of Britain’s military branches to fights between the vigilantly Protestant Hellsing and Vatican agents. This might seem ridiculous to one unfamiliar with European history, but the hatred between the two religions has been long and very bitter, and I certainly buy into an underground competition between the two in the present day.

The references to classic fictional works were numerous. I really believe that world of Hellsing fits into the old works of Dracula. Anyone familiar with them will appreciate the connections; and herein lies some of the problem with Hellsing. There were many, many small things that made the story better for me, and most people would probably gloss over them without a second thought. In relying more upon the viewer, Hellsing makes its story weaker to the masses, but stronger to a smaller slice of the population.

For the average viewer, the often boring, repetitive action scenes, and often difficult to follow drama will seem as hurdles to get to the real action with Alucard, every moment not including him a letdown. The real trouble with Hellsing’s plot lies in its delivery. Every other episode starts “in medias res”. To get a sense of what I mean, imagine an action movie. Right away, you are launched in the middle of an action-packed car chase, with no explanation. You have a sense of who the good guys and bad guys are, and you know everything will be revealed in detail later on – it sets a good level of tension to start a story off with a bang. Hellsing fails in giving adequate explanations quite often and the repeated use of the technique leads to a rather disorienting plot. Rather than feel the tension ratchet up another notch, which is what they were probably going for, I simply felt confused and disappointed.

As such, I cannot possibly give the story too high of a rating, despite some personal interest in the fine details. If you do share my interests, pay close attention, and you will be rewarded with the occasional gold nugget.

Animation (6.5/10)

The animation is, in short, very average. The action scenes are quite good, and many moments surprised me, but for the most part they are only tolerable. Many character animations in particular had me scratching my head; I remember one scene in which Integra, wearing her normal outfit, distinctly appeared to be in pajamas. The occasional very poor image such as this one reduces the art level to a bland “ok”. On the other end of the spectrum, some of Alucard’s more interesting powers had me glued to the screen in anticipation – a strange mix of bad and good.

Sound (8/10)

I really enjoyed the soundtrack to Hellsing. The opener is an interesting mix of piano, electric guitar and drums with a blending of slightly creepy-sounding lyrics – a great combination that really captures the mood of the anime. The closing theme is good, but oddly inappropriate, clashing with the opener. Many good moments in the anime are backed by acoustic guitar supported by vocal chords, polishing them off with a little extra flare. Some of the more intense battle scenes, especially towards the end, appropriately dip into a little hard rock, highlighting the intensity. Overall, a great job was done on the music.

The voice acting was a different story, although still good overall. Alucard was extremely well-done; bass overconfidence with just a touch of creepy laughter. I also particularly liked Integra’s manservant, Walter; he is just the right mix of understated elderly badassery – think Sean Connery. Integra, on the other hand, grated on my ears from the first moment. The young yet tomboyish leader of Hellsing sounds more like a 70-year old life politician than a determined leader of a secret organization. While she grew on me over time, her voice did not. Finally, the major character, Seras, is very annoying. Every time she whined “Master” to Alucard I wanted to strangle her so I didn’t have to hear it again. Once again, Hellsing mixes excellence with mediocrity, but I feel the good does outweigh the bad in this case.

Characters (6/10)

While the characters of Hellsing are interesting they are also incredibly frustrating. Alucard is easily the great centerpiece. It’s not that the other characters were bad, per se: the creators of this anime apparently never felt a strong need to flesh anyone out. Seras’s past is barely scraped upon for 2 minutes, only serving to push me further away from her useless character. Her struggle to maintain some humanity in the face of vampiric urges never fails to come off as boring and uninteresting. I found myself zoning out whenever she came on screen for more than a minute. Walter, who I would have loved to learn more about, has frustratingly little background – he has unflinching loyalty to Integra and was a great friend of Integra’s father, but otherwise we are given no information. Integra is the most researched, but this still only consists of a flashback episode which details only one single event. This, apparently, is enough to explain all her motives.

Alucard, on the other hand, is absolutely captivating. He is never fully explained, but mystery works in his non-human favor. If you are a Dracula buff at all (hint: spell Alucard backwards) you will pick up on all the little details that made him a masterful character, paying homage to the classics while carving out a new, unique feel for him. Although we see only the outside shell of Alucard, as with the other characters, his inner character is often hinted at and glimpsed in small hints of dialogue that make him all the more intriguing. Of course, he also has his fair share of vampiric powers, which naturally heighten his awesome meter. Yet again, Hellsing mixes the sigh-worthy with the awesome. Despite my captivation with Alucard, however, the other characters really drag the show down.

Overall (6.5)

Hellsing is an interesting anime and one worth watching. However, with only one major character really driving interest, it quickly became a game of “watch to see what Alucard does next”. Too much time was spent on random action scenes I didn’t really care about rather than the development of potentially fascinating characters. I felt constantly “prepared” during Hellsing - I was always ready to be dazzled, enthralled, and immersed – and it seems they never quite hit the nail on the head. As I was drawn in by the good, the bad would inevitably show up and give me a good smack. It was definitely worth the time, and perhaps it merits watching just to be able to recognize the numerous Alucard cosplayers, but there are certainly many better anime.

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Thanks for the time!

[sothis]

While I usually stay out of the site reviewing application process (too much to do on the site and too little time), I thought I'd give a first round of feedback, as I know some things that will come up already (these things are common with applications).

But first, two notes:

Hopefully some of you don't hate me so much that you'll just slide this aside and insist that I can't write, because I know I can.

Let me assure you that AP's site reviewing staff acts in a professional manner and will not let personal feelings get in the way of giving legitimate, honest and constructive feedback - the same feedback they'd give to anyone applying.

That being said, I think they're owed an apology for all of the slander going on recently. These people have spent a lot of time not only submitting reviews for the site, but taking valuable time out of their real lives to help others who are applying (as well as giving feedback to each other). Being assaulted with a barrage of insults about how they are elitist, how the site is elitist, or how I am elitist is offensive.

Regardless, I guarantee that the feedback given will be the same to you as to everyone else. But that being said, going into it thinking 'I can write so if your feedback isn't positive you're clearly out to get me' is the wrong way to go into this. I don't hate you, but I can definitely see some areas of improvement. I trust that, as someone who loves writing, you'll be open to hearing this constructive feedback and won't cast it aside because of your own opinions. ^_^

And now, on to the reviews. this is simply preliminary feedback - I suggest having a rewrite first, as that'll help save the other reviewers time repeating what i'm going to say ^_^

In general, there are some areas for improvement that will help strengthen your writing tenfold:

1. Tenses - they are mismatched. heavily. there's a lot of switching between past and present tense throughout both reviews - for example, 'the characters were', 'the male lead has', etc. My personal choice tends to be to focus on the present tense as imo that tends to sound less awkward, but regardless, pick one and stick with it.

2. Stop and go - This is the #1 thing that plagues a lot of us, including a lot of the current site reviewers (who, prior to becoming site reviewers, had to learn how to iron this out :)). Stop and go sentences vastly impede flow and tend to make a review sound dry and uninteresting, and tend to follow this sort of format: 'This. Then this. Now this. And then this. And this. This.'

I'll use one example from Angel's Egg:

The musical score was minimalistic. The movie functioned off of the ambience the setting created. The pieces that were in it were beautiful, ranging from orchestral sweeps and crashes to sound effects that added to the sense of creepiness and alienation the movie created. The voice actors were adequate, never breaking out of a sort of monotonous exchange to show any real emotion.

The score was minimal. The movie functioned. The pieces were beautiful. The actors were adequate.

or:

The colors are warm, but with a heavy emphasis on dark tones. Altogether this creates an arid and gloomy feel to the setting. The character designs are rather uninspired, with the exception of Lala-Ru who just looks kind of weird. The animation was fluid and a pleasure to watch. Fight scenes, although minimal, spared no expense and were intricate. The most fascinating part was the attention to detail. Overall, it is a look that defies the conventional, and generic, look of today’s animes.

The colors are warm. Altogether this creates a feel to the setting. The character designs are uninspired. The animation is fluid. Fight scenes were intricate. The most fascinating part was detail.

Very. Very. Stop. And. Go. Content-wise, the above focuses on the right things - but they're presented in a way that makes for very dry reading. One of the easiest ways to catch yourself doing this is to look out for 'the' sentences - every sentence up there starts with The! Changing things sentence structures is key for flow. The best example I can give of this is VivisQueen's recent works; check out her Major Movie review, the story section, starting with 'Well, check your expectations' in the 3rd para. Notice the changeup of how the sentences are pieced together - they flow perfectly together.

A few things can help fix stop and go, such as trying to change up the beginnings of sentences to trying to minimalize whenever possible (for example, there's a lot of filler in the first three sentences that can be chopped). To give you an idea of how much working on stop&go can change the tone of a review, try reading both of these aloud - and actually, that's another way to notice stop and go, reading aloud. If you have a natural pause after each sentence, quickly and all the time, that's not good. :)

The musical score was minimalistic. The movie functioned off of the ambience the setting created. The pieces that were in it were beautiful, ranging from orchestral sweeps and crashes to sound effects that added to the sense of creepiness and alienation the movie created. The voice actors were adequate, never breaking out of a sort of monotonous exchange to show any real emotion.

Angel's Egg features a minimalistic score filled with beautiful pieces that range from orchestral sweeps and crashes to sound effects that perfectly accent the movie's sense of creepiness and alienation. However, while I found the score to be a solid match for Angel's Egg's abstract demeanor, the voice acting was adequate at best. Speaking consistently in monotonous dialogues, the actors didn't seem to have a chance to show any compelling emotions, which may have helped give more depth to the characters.

(note: originally I was going to post a sample edit of the entire sound section, but it was difficult because it's unclear to me what your message was with this section; thus, i went only with the first part. The beginning of your audio section makes it seem like you thought the minimal score was perfect for the abstract tone, but at the end you say it's forgettable. You say the voice acting is adequate and then segue into 'one scene comes to mind...', but then you bring up something that implies the voice acting isn't adequate. I think this needs to be revisited and rewritten to have a stronger message, as right now it's unclear to me what you thought of the audio. Regardless, I did an edit just to show how removing the 'The's' and eliminating some of the fluff/stop and go can help with flow - added some stuff that you didn't touch on just for example purposes.)

The former, imo, sounds very dry when read out loud, while the latter has more of a musical effect and flows well from sentence to sentence.

3. Repetition

Because the film is not a character based narrative, instead using characters to portray symbols, the characters were not complex individuals. Someone who was to watch this movie because he or she enjoys character driven storylines, would be greatly disappointed.

One of the greater downfalls of Now and Then is that it lacked complex characters. The main character doesn’t change at all from the beginning of the show to its very end. He is introduced to some lessons early off by two similar characters. You would think the point of the lessons is to watch them flower within him; on the contrary, I guess they were just lessons for us to learn. Some of the more complex characters included the psychotic Hambo (whose psychosis bordered on annoying rather than scary), the emotionally traumatized Sara (my personal favorite), and the vengeful Elamba. These were the only characters that showed any depth. The secondary main character, Lala-Ru, was as uninteresting as her bizarre design; in fact, most of the characters were as interesting as their designs, not at all. I did sympathize with them, however, and have a general fondness for the two-dimensional rag-a-muffins.

The storyline is very simple. One won’t find any dramatic plot-twists and the storyline is otherwise predictable.
The storyline is immersive and engaging addressing issues such as genocide, rape, and even abortion. While it is not a complex plot, it is told through a series of intensely emotional episodes. The ending is satisfying, something rare in anime, and brings the storyline full circle.

Make sure to make removing repetition a valuable step in the self editing process. ^_^ Alternating terms (via thesaurus.com, etc) is a must for flow. :)

4. Passive voice
Good occasionally (some of the other site reviewers will likely not agree with me on that and say NEVER, but I like it sometimes ;)) but using it heavily will hurt flow.

5. Lots of different pronouns
You've used 'you', 'one', 'i', 'a viewer', etc. Reviews are generally about your impressions so definitely try to stick with first person (though don't overuse this either - use only when you think calling your opinion out is imprtant - else just say what you think. readers will assume what you're saying is what YOU think).

It's also ok to call out 'Anime fans (or some other choice) who are looking for x should stay far a way, but others who like blah would...', but try to not move between 'you' or 'one', etc

6. Detail
I'd like to see more detail in some of the sections, notably story, as they seem short. NTHT's story section is quite thin, with a third of the text as a rehash of the synopsis (I personally rehash the synopsis too, but there needs to be more meat to the actual opinions). For example you say 'episode highlights for me include episode 6' - this doesn't mean anything to me, a reader. I'm now curious about what about episode 6 was interesting, but now suddenly the story section is over! Angel's Egg is easier because as you mentioned it's abstract and tough to talk about without spoiling. However, giving the reader any nuggets of wisdom about how they can interpret the symbolism (if possible, without spoiling) would be helpful, as otherwise it feels kind of like a tease :p. 'Understanding is fundamental, but I'm not going to say anything else' ;)

Or as another example, you list the characters in NTHT and say they have depth, but not why (and there are no details as to why the others don't).

7. One other general observation
(^^ha, couldn't think of a better way of saying this XD)

The current system of gauging the quality of film is inadequate to tackle projects such as this. Angel’s Egg is an art film for art film’s sake. It contains references to religion in abstract ways that require a lot of thinking on the part of the audience. It is the kind of film that only gives what you take from it. I wouldn’t suggest this to anyone who watches anime purely for entertainment, because it is an exercise in anime as an art form. However, if a viewer is interested in surrealist, abstract, or absurdist films this is definitely something to take home.

The last thing I'll bring up, and I'm not sure how to explain this, is to try to tighten up your thoughts. That above para reads very awkwardly to me - there's passive voice and a mishmash of ideas that don't come together very well. I get what you're trying to say, but... it just needs to be worked on. For example: 'The current system of gauging the quality of film is inadequate to tackle projects such as this.' => this comes across as overly wordy and I'm not sure what you mean by it anyways. Why not something a lot more direct and less wordy like 'Angel's Egg can't be judged like other films in the medium - it's an art film meant for an audience willing to experience an abstract nature and thought-provoking references, and will not satisfy those looking for a popcorn flick' ?

There are various paras throughout the reviews that have this same style, and if they're tightened up, the reviews will read much better. :)

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I meant this to be preliminary feedback but instead have spent 30 minutes writing this up XD hopefully it's of use. You're a competent writer and clearly are capable of writing creatively - for example, i liked this passage:

Like a fine wine, watching Angel’s Egg now will do two things for the pallet. For those who don’t like wine, it will be a distasteful venture into the unknown, with a bitter aftertaste. For those who enjoy a little bit of age, Angel’s Egg is a classic example of high quality animation without the need for computers.

(needs editing at the 'without the need for computers' but otherwise, a solid analogy and a great way to start the section)

I'd like to see a rewrite of these two, taking into account the feedback I gave above. It's basic stuff but I think you'll be surprised at how much your writing will improve. At that point, the other site reviewers might have more tips.

I look forward to seeing your round 2s. ^_^

[a final note: please forgive any mis-spoken terms in my feedback or poor explanations for things that English majors may be able to explain better ^_^; I have a computer science major and virtually no experience with formal English, thus all of my feedback is based on what I've learned through my tech writing job and personal experience.]

[sothis]

crap, sorry for the two posts there - looks like it accidentally posted while i was still working on the response. the post at the end of this thread now is the correct one.

[samshadow999]

Ok, i currently don't have any reviews, nor have i ever written one, but i have the Fullmetal Panic! Fumoffu and Saikano Boxsets and am willing to write reviews for them, ofcourse this might take a while but if this thread is still up by the time i've watched and written i'll post them here :) might take me a while mind...

Ideally waiting for Elfen Lied's Boxset and eager to write it's review since ages ago lol