AverageJoseph

Intro Jun Maeda, well known for previous teen drama efforts - Kanon and Clannad, has come up with another, shorter retelling, only this time with a much more interesting twist.. Kanon was all about character development and slowly divulging in each ones story, Clannad was more of the same, only more brutal in its story telling and delivery. Angel Beats! however, must capture its audience with half the number of episodes of 'Kanon' and 4 times less than that of 'Clannad'. So how does it fair? Story Yuzuru Otonashi, some teenage boy awakens to find himself at an unknown school... See full review

Over ten years after Ninja Scroll, This TV series was quietly released. There are 13 episodes in total (4 for Vol 1 and 2, 5 for the 3rd) that take place in ancient feudal Japan, as did the film, and includes a huge variety of new original characters that reminds fans why they fell in love with the film. Fascinating creatures that, almost, give the 8 devils a run for their money. But Jubei is not alone in this series, he is "Accompanied" by the old government spy Dakuan, and meets new characters: Shigure a mysterious young woman bored of her life in a remote village and Tsubute the thief thrown in... See full review

This is quite an old and odd collection of short films based on the manga Violence Jack. All 3 parts found on one disc in the official Manga video collection, Violence Jack is set in a dark time of global collapse as a giant earthquake destroys mankind's home and causes everyone to scrounge for life under city ruins, desperately hunting down food and entertainment, splitting off into different factions due to different mindsets, lust and general insanity. Released in the late 80's, this anime was certainly pushing the boundaries of censorship as it was largely banned and heavily edited in many countries... See full review

Virus Buster Serge is an underrated and rather unknown Manga anime series that has somehow been skipped over by many into the genre. It seems hardly anybody has heard about it or at least seen it all which is a shame really as it has many (positive & negative) talking points. The whole 'cyborgs are causing chaos and destruction whilst merging with human tissue' concept may sound rare and insane but the look of the mech suits are something that has be done to death. However the story isn't really what keeps you watching - some brilliant characters, stunning backdrops, pulsating fight scenes and all with... See full review

"Life and death come and go like marionettes dancing on a table. Once their strings are cut, they easily crumble." ~ Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence ~ Filled with puzzling quotes, this one being crystal clear - No ties, no goals, no control, no purpose. An apt phrase written on the walls of a lunatic ex-hacker's home. As a sequel with a deep and frighteningly thought provoking storyline, GITS2:I is best viewed with the experience of viewing (and understanding) the first Masamune Shirow film, because while it could work as a stand alone film, there are several references, returning... See full review

As a young misguided teen I went through a phase of anime interest, which lasted my final school years, when I would purchase renowned Manga's that were genuinely well made films - the likes of Akira, Ninja Scroll and Spirited Away, still take pride of place on my shelf. However, during those foolish days I came across Manga 'The Collection' - a bunch of films, short and long (and series) supposedly worthy of being re-released and dubbed in English. The majority of which are rubbish. I know this from experience as I was gifted a 'collection' dvd in the form of Violence Jack which has various brief trailers... See full review

Still on an anime kick... ...I searched a couple of forums mentioning any kind of radical genre or intense story-lines - Mirai Nikki - or Future Diary, was one that stood out. I had no idea what I was getting myself into plot-wise though, as this series' reputation relies on on of its characters - spawning an internet meme, in the form of a facial expression, common place among various sites, even those non-related. At 26 episodes, It's a tad too long, so you can guarantee there's filler episodes not integral to the plot... That being said, they're not exactly delving into character... See full review

'Clannad' is exceptionally difficult to review without *SPOILERS* Hailed as one of the all time greats among anime series, Clannad, is the king of touchy feely romcom teen drama. Having a fairly stable outlook on life, tolerable stomach for emotions and quite level headed, I took up the challenge that is a very nearly, 50 episode television series. Originally a visual novel, Clannad was adapted into an anime series that carries many themes from the original - music, characters, voice actors and key events - so It's rather loyal to the game. As to whether it truly is a misery strewn minefield of... See full review

Continuing the theme of nostalgic teenage interests... The next anime up for review is a big one - Death Note. So giant that it has its humble roots in print (manga), rise to popularity in this anime and went further by having a video game and 3 live action films plus light novels. My only warning about the following is of possible spoilers as this series is 37 episodes long and has an equally large and intwining stories. Story Light Yagami, your average no.1 high school genius, popular with all the girls with his brains and brawn, youth tennis champion 2 years running... yeah not sounding like your... See full review

Chobits A popular magazine-manga, 'Chobits' is one of many that gained enough attention to be made into an animation series - in this case one of 26 episodes. Released in 2002, Chobits still gets around, thanks to its premise and heart warming cuteness. While it's not particularly my area of interest in an anime, it did manage to hold me to watch all episodes, perhaps not fully focused but hey, when there's a robot girl who can only manage to say "Chi!" every couple of seconds, you're allowed a break now and again Plot Hideki Motosuwa (voiced by seasoned actor, Crispin Freeman) is a... See full review

Another A 12 episode anime from 2012, based on a novel of the same name, is a mystery horror set in a sleepy town of Yomiyama, where a troubled 15 year old (tries to) settle into a slower pace of life outside the city. Only things are problematic from the beginning, suffering from ill health the first few months of the school year, then finding school life a slowly deteriorating grind. When classmates act increasingly shady, the true nature of harrowing rumors become reality. First Impressions Finding my way back into the anime scene and it's vast depths of entertainment, 'Another' seemed a fairly basic... See full review