SadisticTendencies

*The only Anime I've seen that I'd give a 10 out of 10* Spirited Away; not only one of the titles associated with anime in general, but also the very movie that introduced me to the splendid medium of Japanese animation. If said statement doesn't make me seem highly biased, then allow me to proclaim that this review most certainly is. I think it's natural to reserve a certain amount of one's affection for movies and books one associates with particularly pleasant memories and experiences. With this in consideration, I do acknowledge the vague possibility that Spirited Away's position as my favourite anime... See full review

Story: 9/10 Take a good look at your anime habits and ask yourself “what’s more important to me; execution or concept”? If your answer is “concept” I’d re-direct you to some truly original stories that nonetheless end up falling beneath their own weight; Umineko no naku koro ni for example. If your answer is “execution”, however, I’d gladly point in the direction of shows like Cowboy Bebop and Madoka who excel in writing over original ideas. Viewers looking for both might find themselves with a more limited list of alternatives, but Princess Tutu is... See full review

Kunihiko Ikuhara is a director who used to work for Toei Animation on the production of Sailor Moon. When he left in 1996 he was frustrated over the restrictions imposed upon him and eventually created another shoujo series in which he took every cliché of the genre; every intensified component of fairy tales; each and every aspect of adolescent struggles and combined all of it in an apocalyptic turmoil of psychological drama. The result is called Revolutionary Girl Utena and is known by fans as one of the more eccentric and allegorical titles available in the world of anime.

Story... See full review

Story: 9/10
Straight from episode 1 it's clear that Madhouse tries to pull off a narrative in a reversed timeline as the first scene shows a strange boy waking up to discover that he has no memories. The setting is that of a future where memories can be transformed into data and transported from different bodies and as the world is explored more thoroughly, we also receive shattered pieces of information about the protagonist. These do little more than confuse you at first but prove to be vital if you want to comprehend the latter part of the show. Pulling off a story with such an unconventional... See full review

It sometimes bothers me that people advertise Madoka as a morbid deconstruction of the magical girl genre. First of all, taking a genre full of roses and choosing to emphasize the thorns is not in itself an indication of quality. Furthermore, if that’s what you wanted you’d need to look no further than to the appropriately named Revolutionary Girl Utena from the late 90’s era. In truth, anime fans have peculiar ways of promoting their latest obsession which might have caused quite a few to perceive this show as the typical piece of generic storytelling so commonly adored by the majorities... See full review

Madhouse is a studio that has received my respect based not only on its ability to dish out effectively entertaining gore (Ninja Scroll) but also because it has a high quality standard and used to have a prominent cooperation with genius Satoshi Kon. Lately I've discovered that it's a studio which also bothers to lend its creativity to less mainstream projects as well, with daring visual treats like Kaiba. I just finished Aoi Bungaku, a show based on six stories gathered from classic Japanese literature and I absolutely loved it. A studio that boldly applies a comparably huge budget to a project without... See full review

A common misconception about animated shorts states that they, bathing in creativity or not, never reach the same heights of storytelling as full-length features. While it's true that there's little room left for plot devices and character development if you happen to have a running time that doesn't even surpass half an hour, I still find this notion absolutely ridiculous. Rather than observing a short film and condemn it based on the lack of things you'd find in a movie, I've always been under the belief that the approach itself needs to be changed in accordance to the runtime. Hopefully, viewers who... See full review

*This review contains spoilers, though I'd like to acknowledge that I personally don't think it matters at all when you see a movie like this* Fundamentally speaking, Angel's Egg is a movie with such an abundance of eccentric metaphors and symbolism that every individual will make his own subjective interpretations based on the minimal amount of clues that are given. In the end, realizing that there are no true answers to be found is as frustrating as it is sorrowful but, admittedly, I have a profound feeling that the plethora of varying theories regarding its true nature becomes Angel's Egg true... See full review

The first time I watched this I perceived it as an enjoyable ride, but profoundly inferior to the otherwise excellent Ghibli features. After viewing it again I've changed my opinion rather fundamentally and in this review I'll try to explain why, while trying to maintain a quick and basic approach. Story: 8.5/10 Storywise, Nausicaa combines the environmentalism that was so prominent in Princess Mononoke with a theme of pacifism as we're introduced to a setting 1000 years after civilization was destroyed by Giant Warriors. As toxic gases fill the air and insects have mutated into huge beasts... See full review

The everlasting dilemma when you choose a historical setting for your story; is it more beneficial to aim for historical accuracy or inaccuracy? Pretentious historians would most likely point at "accuracy" and label it obvious while I personally think that a tone of creative liberty allows the narrative to soar into more admirable levels of grandeur. Rose of Versailles is not only famous for being among the first titles ever produced in the Shoujo genre and its strong female lead but also for the fact that it takes place before, during and after the French revolution using non-fictional... See full review

Serial Experiment: Lain; it’s been hailed both as a revolutionary comment on the nature of reality and a pretentious brew of technobabble. After watching it for the first time I found myself unable to reach a conclusion beyond “Well, this sure was unique” but after a second watch I’ve returned to make a (hopefully) fair assessment of its merits. Story: 7/10 The first episode (or layer) is titled “Weird” and for good reason. We’re introduced to a world where your internet connection can provide a much more intense and interactive experience in the network known as... See full review

As much as I try to avoid generalizations, I have to admit that my childhood gave me a chance to spot several differences in the way boys and girls mistreat each other. While boys tend to go for physical assaults, girls seem to place most of their faith in psychological warfare of a quite unnerving kind; rumors, verbal abuse and trash talking to be a bit more precise. With this in mind, watching Oniisama e might sound like a pointless exercise of masochism since large portions of its storyline are comprised of this kind of behavior, but rest assured, there are lots of qualities to it as well. On with the... See full review

The seemingly endless afternoon I spent reading an Anime encyclopedia a few months ago did not only provide me with more insight on glorified child pornography than I would have ever imagined: it also displayed a mysterious picture of a woman under the title "Queen Emeraldas." Somehow fascinated by a few passages describing the Leijiverse, I spent some time researching Leiji Matsumoto on the internet and eventually ended up seeing Captain Harlock. I approached this, by comparison to most other anime, antiquity with high expectations. It turned out to differ quite fundamentally from my personal... See full review

Story: 6/10 When a skilled cyberneticist stumbles upon the remnants of a female cyborg he decides to save her and manages to restore everything but her memories. As she regains consciousness it’s made clear that her robotic body hasn’t reduced her humanity to something entirely artificial and she is still capable of understanding and developing feelings of love, loyalty and devotion. Such is the premise of Battle Angel Alita, set in a post-apocalyptic world where people without access to Zalem, a floating city of presumed luxuries, are forced to live in a society filled with garbage... See full review

For anyone interested in joining the obscure but still existing Leiji Matsumoto fandom without going through the 113 episodes of Galaxy Express 999, this movie is the perfect lifesaver. Not only does it tell the same story with all its basic components but it also adds enough changes to interest already initiated viewers without providing any less of a good informative foundation. Adapting material from a show that spanned more than 100 episodes into a movie of merely 2 hours sounds rather chaotic in terms of narration but the execution itself is just fine once you look past a few rushed segments. This is... See full review

Story: 7/10 When discussing the story of Narutaru it would be wise to begin with addressing the lack of a proper ending; just like Berserk the show ends right in the middle of things leaving viewers with more questions than answers. As fatal as this can be, the final product still managed to strike me as nicely scripted which is a priceless virtue when it comes to something so bizarre. What makes it so bizarre you might wonder, and the answer lies in the first episode setting the stage for a calm slice-of-life where our protagonist finds and befriends a cutesy pokémonesque creature. What follows... See full review

Tales of a Street Corner is produced by Osamu Tezuka and uses a combination of living and inanimate characters to construct a story with a heavy anti-war theme. Sounds bizarre, right? Well, it certainly is and the first half is unlikely to get any other reaction than a few raised eyebrows and smiles as it introduces the characters and setting. Among the cast we find a human girl and her father; a moth; a group of mice; a street-lamp and finally a plethora of various posters containing a large variety of characters. These characters inhabit a street corner that, through clever development, comes off as an... See full review

Story: 6/10 People tend to have a flexible approach towards certain conditions whenever they enter a contract but if they happen to be customers of Count D, owner of a mysterious pet shop, an attitude as such can prove to be fatal. The first 3 episodes of this peculiar OVA are dedicated more or less entirely to the depictions of what might happen once you purchase an animal from the protagonist only to ignore the rules he provides. Sounds repetitive? It certainly is but then again it could have been much worse and thanks to a decent execution and plenty of new material in each tale, the show manages to... See full review

Mamoru Oshii; he's known for dark and thoughtprovoking stories with heavy allegorical undertones and/or comments on humanity's progress for better or for worse. With a grand résumé like that it's no wonder people overlook one of his more recent shorts: a humble twelve-minute story named in a cheesy manner that fits its intentions almost perfectly.  In a world where humanity's been presumably annihilated, a surviving dog wanders aimlessly during the days whilst sleeping in a box during night. Along with memories of human warmth and joy from his past we get to witness a series of... See full review

As one of the more mysterious and sufficiently badass women residing in the vast Leijiverse, her boundaries as a side-character rarely failed to aggravate me in her various cameos as the sincere fanboy I identify myself as. I'm talking about the space pirate Emeraldas who had to wait for 1998 to come before she finally got an OVA of her own. I just finished watching it and hopefully this review will provide a considerably more objective assessment than my rampaging fanboyism logically would allow.  Story: 5/10 The Leiji Matsumoto pattern has made it clear that a young and ambitious male protagonist... See full review

Story: 6/10 Ah anime; sacred provider not only of perversion in heavy dozes and occasional masterpieces, but you're also a medium that excels at creating material so bizarre that it rumbles the very foundation of human comprehension. Is there such a thing as a mandatory reaction to an OVA such a bizarre as this one? More importantly, are there any vacant indicators that could provide the viewer with information regarding which specific age-group Super Kuma-san yearns to attract? The answer, as expected, is a “no” emphasized by two huge letters displayed on a neon sign. There may be numerous... See full review

To the majority of all Anime fans, whether Sailor Moon is good enough to charm a little girl off her feet or appeal to an older audience seeking nostalgia is a question of utter irrelevance. What most people should be asking themselves is whether or not it can actually appeal to a male or adult audience, and after having seen all 46 episodes I'm pretty sure that it can. Now, I do admit that I used to watch this as a child, but the only parts of it I could remember before I re-visited it were the transformation sequences, Sailor Mars and the Swedish dub of the ending theme. All in all this was a fairly... See full review

Story: 6/10 Before any further explanations are made, I have to express that anyone with a pet peeve for fictional melodrama should run away and never look back. Much like other titles from the same genre and era, this is a movie with no shame when it comes to executing scene after scene with such ridiculous and dramatic extravagance that it crosses the border of what most people find endurable. If, like me, you can’t get enough of that stuff, continue your reading. Partly a coming-of-age story but also a tale of sexual awakening and the loss of youth; Natsu e no Tobira is more or less what... See full review

When it comes to the quality of Elfen Lied, anime fans are at constant war with each other with one side praising it as hauntingly beautiful and the other resenting it for being a crude and exploitative gorefest. Since my opinion on the highly notorious show is somewhat near the middle, I thought I’d share my thoughts about it in a review where I highlight both the pros and cons as I subjectively perceive them. Story: 5/10 At first sight there are several interesting plot components that may not be the best ingredients for something intelligent (unless handled exceptionally well) but that should... See full review

Let's just cut to the chase; the answer is yes, this anime does depict romantic relationships between people of the same sex. I'd choose to describe the more sensual scenes as highly palatable and sometimes even intensely beautiful, but if you're unable to handle a story of such nature, then read no further. Basically, this anime uses a prestigious French school as its setting where our protagonist, the virtuous and talented Serge, meets his new room-mate and polar opposite in the manipulative Gilbert who uses his body to gain various favors from other men. Unlike some other anime of the same genre I know... See full review

One thing that should be acknowledged before this review is that I have yet to finish this series (currently on episode 75) and may or may not make adjustments in the future. Leiji Matsumoto spent a large portion of his life constantly elaborating his own personal universe defined by certain key characters amongst a huge cast who left their marks on the various places in space. On these journeys, several questions are bound to be asked; is technological advancement something positive or negative; Will increased comfort eventually lead to our ambitious and creative decay; Is it possible to live on without... See full review

Story: 5/10
 
Unlike anime with more time on its hands to properly structure and develop a story, a project  of this length can easily survive on its indications of what lies outside the limited run time. In this sense, G-9 manages fairly well in producing a cryptic and initially confusing puzzle of amnesia, monologues and calligraphy-inspired artwork. The story seems initially confusing but reaches acceptable heights of coherence and quality thanks to later elaborations. It never really reaches a conclusion, but there are enough plot devices to make the viewer imagine a tale of larger... See full review

From the earlier penmanship of studio Madhouse comes a short tale about a cutesy unicorn destined to travel through time and space, leaving both his memories and happiness behind. The first movie tells of his encounter with a sick girl and her grandfather inhabiting a town suffering from the pollutions of a nearby factory. The typical cheesy environmental themes are woven together with Unico's magical abilities that provide helpfulness amidst all the misery. Fundamentally speaking, this is ridiculous and naive enough (let's just ruin the big bad factory and everything will be swell!) to be meant for kids... See full review

As is the case with most obscure Anime I watch, I find it irresistible to review once I see the lack of information on it available online. As there are no other reviews for this OVA I'll sum it up for you, as well as expose my personal feelings towards it. As you can see I'm under the false impression that any form of human being will eventually stumble upon this. Story: 5/10: In a world where humans, ghosts and ogres co-exist not-so-peacefully a solemn warrior armored with his infamous sword travels across the world in search of monsters to slay. Under the vague impression that he'll achieve a humanity... See full review

Story: 5/10 Having lost their human masters since long ago, the entire cast of Malice@Doll is comprised of androids that no longer have any reason for being but still choose to carry out their original duties with loyalty. Amongst these characters we find Malice, a specific kind of robotic creature made solely to provide sexual satisfaction to human customers who used to exist. When an abnormality grants her the gift (or curse) of humanity, everything changes as she allows not only herself but also the other "dolls" to be reborn as sentient, emotional beings who quickly start to explore the pros... See full review