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sothis

  • Seattle
  • Joined May 22, 2002
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Alice

Jan 23, 2008

Story
Some people envision Hell as a torturous place full of fire and brimstone; others envision it as a room filled with nothing but mother-in-laws. Others, like me, think of Hell as an endless span of time when the only activity available is to either stab yourself in the eyes repeatedly, or watch Go Nagai brainstorm "awesome" ideas for new excessively ugly and ecchi anime. After watching Alice I can successfully say "welcome to Hell."Now don't get excited - Alice is not a Go Nagai title; even Go Nagai's artwork is more attractive than this... BARELY. Alice is a work by... See full review

0.5/10 story
2.5/10 animation
3/10 sound
1/10 characters
1/10 overall

Ai City

Dec 31, 2007

Story
Ai City opens with a bizarre display of blood vessels, DNA strands, and various bolts of electricity; I don't know about you, but to me this pretty much screams "oh man, am I in for a hilariously-bad ride!"It did not disappoint.Ai City has it all - giant floating heads, random explosions of gore, psychic powers, massive eyeball and tentacle creatures, and an ass-kicking bunnygirl who constantly, for no apparent reason, ends up naked on-screen; really, what's not to like?! Seriously though, the story is interesting enough on its own. I can't say too much without spoiling... See full review

6.5/10 story
6.5/10 animation
7/10 sound
6.5/10 characters
6.5/10 overall

Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman

Dec 31, 2007

Story
Poison-spitting nipples? Extreme gore? Monsters whose faces appear to be coming out of giant vaginas? That's right, Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman could only have been created by the illustrious Go Nagai. Amon is a direct sequel to the Devilman OVA, and essentially replaces the latter part of the TV series (with differences in the final battle and other elements). Akira Fudo is still around and still fighting demons - the powerful demon Amon inside of him, combined with his human heart, gives him the ability to control his body and fight as Devilman. However (and I don't consider this a... See full review

7/10 story
7.5/10 animation
9/10 sound
4/10 characters
7/10 overall

Angel's Feather

Jul 9, 2007

Story
Oh lord.In my endless quest to add as many things to the AniRec, I picked up Angel's Feather. Not only is it a short OVA, but it's also shounen-ai - a genre which usually means no one will add it unless I do it myself. I guess there's one silver lining on the cloud: at least it was only two episodes.See, the title "Angel's Feather" is actually incorrect. I have good authority to say that the real title is actually "BOS Feather" (bag of shit feather), as nothing that is good and pure would have such a putrid stench to it. Folks, this is about as generic as it... See full review

2/10 story
7/10 animation
2/10 sound
2/10 characters
2.5/10 overall

Armitage III Dual-Matrix

Sep 3, 2006

Story
Ahh, Dual-Matrix. Yet another time the anime industry has milked a series for all its worth, creating something mediocre and yawn-inducing. Why is it that any time a kid enters the picture, things get ruined? Think about all the sequels to real life movies you’ve seen; it’s always the same format: couple who hooked up at the end of the first movie have had a child, then must embark on some sort of adventure to either a) save the child from some sort of malady such as being kidnapped, or b) go on an adventure with the kids as their sidekick. Inevitably, it always ends up sucking... See full review

3/10 story
9.5/10 animation
6/10 sound
4/10 characters
5.5/10 overall

Armitage III

Sep 1, 2006

Story
I love cyberpunk. I dress like it, read about it, and am enamored with anything related to it. For god’s sake, I’m covered in cyborg tattoos because I’ve been obsessed with becoming a cyborg since I was 10, and since I can’t physically, I might as well look like it superficially. Thus, people have been telling me for years that I’d love Armitage, yet I put it off until today. The moral of the story? Listen to your friends more often.

Armitage III takes place on Mars, in a dark and futuristic city. Androids, amongst other things, serve as housekeepers, babysitters, and... See full review

9/10 story
9.5/10 animation
9/10 sound
8/10 characters
9.5/10 overall

Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror

Jul 25, 2006

Story
Oh boy... anything in the horror genre, let alone something that blatantly has "horror" in the title, is a must see for sothis. Luckily, with Ayakashi, it wasn’t a disappointment.

Ayakashi, in the same vein as Memories or Cockpit, is a collection of three unrelated stories that all fit into a certain genre; in this case, horror. Though the title boasts "traditional Japanese horror", only the first of the three tales is based on a real Japanese horror story. They are, however, told in a traditional narration style and draw thematic elements from Japanese horror stories. It’s... See full review

8/10 story
8.5/10 animation
8/10 sound
8.5/10 characters
7.8/10 overall

Archetypes Forces

Aug 7, 2005

Story
It is true that Archetypes Forces is only 15 minutes in length, but I am not exageratting when I say that the storyline is superb. Think of it like being in the vein of Alien, or some other thriller sci-fi flick. It's difficult to say what it's about without spoiling (the description above doesn't spoil, trust me), so I'd suggest NOT reading the AnimeNFO description. I will say that there is a really big twist at the end which is open ended, but still totally satisfying (I say that as a person who HATES open ended things). Honestly, it would have been great without the twist too... lots of... See full review

9/10 story
8/10 animation
8/10 sound
7/10 characters
8.5/10 overall

Ayane's High Kick

Aug 7, 2005

Story
Let's face it, folks. The plot of Ayane's High Kick is really nothing to scream about. There's nothing supernatural or unusual about it -- simply a girl who is training to be the best, under some fairly comical circumstances. But don't get me wrong, the "realness" of the plot is somewhat appealing. Instead of having hadoken type spiritual fireball moves or cheesiness, you get good old fashioned kickboxing moves.

The overall tone is definitely self-empowering and comedic at the same time. Ayane is determined to be the best, but yet is being tricked in funny ways, making fights and... See full review

6/10 story
6.5/10 animation
3/10 sound
6/10 characters
6/10 overall

Ah! My Goddess

Aug 7, 2005

Story
Throughout my anime-watching career, I’ve seen a fair amount of hyped/fanboy series. Some of these (such as Witch Hunter Robin, Hellsing, Full Metal Alchemist for a newer one, or Berserk) are damn good; I’m talking good on a variety of levels: plot, imagery, or the core feel and impact it has on you. On the other hand, I’ve also been privy to series that are extremely hyped and loved by pretty much all anime fans, whereas I’ve found them to be quite average and unexciting. Bebop is one of them (yes, I know I am fairly alone on that thought), and Ah! My Goddess is now... See full review

5/10 story
5/10 animation
7/10 sound
6.5/10 characters
6/10 overall

A Tree of Palme

Mar 7, 2005

Story
Palme is a boy who is made of wood, who once lived peacefully with his "father", and a woman named Xian, his "mother". Xian fell sick and died, and since that day, Palme stopped moving... until the woman came. She came in the night bearing an orb, and when Palme awakened from his years of sleep, she entrusted the orb to him to bear to the underworld for purposes unknown. The sap would allow him to continue to live, she explained, and needed to be delivered by him to the place she came from. If he brought the sap as she desired, he could finally become human. And thus, with that, Palme began his... See full review

7/10 story
8.5/10 animation
8/10 sound
9/10 characters
8/10 overall

Appleseed Movie

Jan 3, 2005

Story
Having seen the original OVA for Appleseed, I was expecting this movie would be nothing more than glorified eye candy with a weak plot and nothing to show up the surely pretty graphics. The original OVA is basically a police show, handling one case. We know about the city and the bioroids, and the hostilities between the bioroids and the military, but not much more than that. We have no idea what Appleseed means or why it has anything to do with the OVA, and there isn't anything deep, per se.

Boy, was I surprised...

Appleseed the MOVIE was incredible. Simply... See full review

9.5/10 story
9.6/10 animation
9/10 sound
9.5/10 characters
9.5/10 overall

Amon Saga

Nov 27, 2004

Story
You know, if there ever was a classic case of false advertising, it would be Amon Saga. From the first look at the cover of the DVD, I was excited and expected something interesting and unheard of. Now I know it's unheard of for a reason. Amon Saga is a dark sort of fantasy that is overall fairly generic, with lots of plot points and holes that aren't really explained. We only know that there is a giant turtle creature with a city on its back called Varlhiss, and this thing stomps around, killing random villagers and destroying cities. Its rule is a Darth Vader type guy (who reminded me... See full review

5/10 story
6.7/10 animation
6/10 sound
5/10 characters
5.7/10 overall

Azumanga Daioh

Nov 21, 2004

Story
Azumanga Daioh is a show about nothing, literally. Think of it like Seinfeld, but with high school girls and more hilarity, and you've got all the bases covered. The episodes revolve around six girls and their daily life at a high school, which always ends up being random in some way.

The comic formula is hilarious, and is almost flawless. Many scenes will make you scratch your head and wonder "eh?" while simultaneously laughing, while other scenes make you laugh by repeating the same thing over and over and over and over, far past the point where you think it should have just... See full review

8.5/10 story
8/10 animation
8/10 sound
9.5/10 characters
9/10 overall

Angelique: Shiroi Tsubasa no Memoire

Nov 6, 2004

Story
What do the following things have in common: eating my leg off with teeth that have been ground down to stumps, shoving ham sandwiches in my nose and mouth until I die of suffocation, and slowly peeling my toenails off with toothpicks? Answer: things I'd rather do than come near Angelique again. From the depths of hell comes Angelique, an OVA that reminds us that there truly is not a god for making us watch something this terrible. I feel ill just writing this review, but I feel it's my civic duty to let you all know what a steaming pile of shit this OVA is, so you can avoid it like the... See full review

0.5/10 story
6.5/10 animation
5.5/10 sound
1/10 characters
1/10 overall

Ariel

Sep 15, 2004

Story
Ariel starts out on a very promising note. A jovial narrator introduces all the main characters (and secondary characters, really). Each of them has something "unfortunate" related to them. For example, one of the girls is unfortunate because she wants to study, and has to pilot Ariel (the All Round Intercept and Escort Lady... I am not joking) instead. We are even introduced to the entire alien staff (who all look like elves, I might add), right down to the budget coordinator. The first scene we see as part of the actual story, is the alien ship launching several alien creatures down to the... See full review

2/10 story
5/10 animation
5/10 sound
3/10 characters
4/10 overall

Azusa Will Help!

Sep 6, 2004

Story
Azusa Will Help is a fairly light hearted look at a supposedly futuristic society that has robots as a commonplace occurance. I say supposedly because although the year is 2099, you really can't tell at all, except for the addition of the robots. Anyways, these robots range from maids (no, really?!) to the more important sports playing robots, which vary in skill and power depending on, you guessed it, the cost.
The story focuses on Karu Duck High (wtf kind of a name is that?!), a semi-poor baseball team who wants to make it big. Unluckily for them, Eagle High has already purchased... See full review

6.5/10 story
7/10 animation
7/10 sound
5.5/10 characters
6/10 overall