PhdInCartoons

Story
The story plays out very similarly to another game tie in, There isn't a lot tying each episode together. They are just monster of the week episodes. Another thing that is going against this anime is the abundabce of cheese, there is lots. Goodies and baddies being called goodies and baddies and the chief antagonist who feeds on hate may, rightly, have some people not being able to finish it. If you do you will see one of the most inexplicable second seasons I have ever seen. It is blatantly trying to squeeze more money out of the already wrung out franchise. Also the pacing is all over the... See full review

Story The story for this instalment seems to be trying to throw as many twists and turns at you as possible. Whilst some of these work very well, others will have you scratching your head in disbelief. There is some closure to most things that have been left hanging and it does all come to a head nicely too.  Animation The animation, normally, is as good as the other series. In the large battle sequences it is let down a little. The usual attention to detail has had to be let slip a little when it comes to these sweeping, epic battles and you will notice that. In a way its downfall was how good... See full review

Story The story is a little more well rounded than the original series, in a dramatic sense. Relationships are mope complex and allowed to change over the course. Episode to episode it isn’t that brilliant and at times is very predictable.  Animation The animation is very good. It makes up for all the melodrama. It is very good to look at and at times lulls you into thinking higher of this series than you should. The action sequences are also done very well. These can sometimes let down anime that look good but not this one.  Sound The music is very good and fits the anime quite... See full review

Story
This serves as a meer snapshot into the lives of the Borrowers and Sho at this pparticular instance. Some people will not enjoy the openness of the ending and there are some parts which drag a little but I think it serves a a very believable insight into how these people, both big and small, go about their lives. Animation
As is to be expected this is amazing. There is fantastic amount of detail in the Borrowers world. So much care has been put in to showing how peole this size would cope and interact with the world making it a pleasure to watch.  Sound There is a little... See full review

Story
By this stage the plot is starting to lose all sense of purpose. They are just there to beat up some more people. Some points that were crucial in the earlier series have been forgotten. Animation
Similar in feel to the other 2. Good, but for an action anime decidingliy lacking when it comes to action. Sound The music is actually ok. It works quite well with the tone of the show. The voices follow the last series too. By this point, by shear exposure to it you will have grown tired of Goku and his incessant complaints. Characters They all bounce of each other in a way that it... See full review

Story
This picks up where the first one left off, The groups is still heading west and having fairly episodic adventures. The story's lack of going anywhere is starting to grate a little by now. Animation There is a change to the animation here which throws you a little to start with and like the first series is not fantastically consistent. Sound The music is good at setting the tone, if a little overused. The dub continues in a similar fashion although the original actors do not continue. Goku is getting on your nerves by this point. Characters The characters are pretty much the same... See full review

Story I personally enjoyed the storyline of this sequel. It is made up of three distinct sections, which are all very good, but all very different. This is both the making and breaking of the storyline. It means that if any of the part are less agreeable with your personal preference you can take heart in the fact that it won't last long. However if you like one of the parts it doesn't last long either. Animation Very good. Very like the first series. Excellent character design and backgrounds. Action sequences are slightly improved from the forst series. Sound The soundtrack is very good. This... See full review

Story Not fantastic. Critcially it is nothing new or exciting. It is a really long episode. It is just a way to run all the characters across the screen. Animation Excellent, a lot better. The ageing Trigun animation has been updated and now looks wonderful. They have kept it true to form but the increase in budget has definitley improved the production. Sound The voices are well done, if not the original dub cast. For a film playing on nostalgic fans it would have been nicer if they could have convinced more of the cast to return. The music feels pretty much like it should. It is a similar feel... See full review

Story Only there to keep the thing moving, style over substance. Follows the exact example as the  show. They tried to make it a little more surprising with some twists, these don't really come of that well. Animation Excellent, very like the show. Some brilliant fight scenes, actually brilliant. Sound The music is pretty O.K, the voices are only O.K., even considering. You would expect better from such a high quality vocal cast Characters Like in the show, the characters let this production down. They are all very 1-dimensional. There isn't a lot of growth. However if you are going to... See full review

Story Pretty bad actually. It doesn't go anywhere and although it looks very good it lacks something. Kind of like watching Sims interact. Animation O.K., besides the movement. It is very good to look at, which is good. It was a way for the production team to show off. The CGI is still aging a little. Like many epic CGI sequences, when it is revisited you notice the flaws. It does not cope that well with movement. Sound Music is O.K at setting the tone, the voices are not as good as you might expect though. For such a high level production, with an obviously large budget, the actors could have... See full review

Story Not great, after school special-y. I can't imagine anyone who would watch this without watching the show. If you have watched the show then it is more of the same. Just one big episode really.  Animation Very similar to the show, violence done in a way as to not offend anyone.  Sound Annoying voices, good-ish music.  This mirrors the shows sound production.  Characters Same as the show. Exactly the same, just a feature length episode really to get more money.  Overall Just O.K. It is like reviewing a single episode of the show. If you have watched the... See full review

Story Pretty boring, and removed from the rest. It really has nothing to do with the OVAs and is more similar to the show. However it is alot worse. The story could have been quite good but it is not handled that well. Animation Lower in standard than the rest. You would expect an animated film version of an anime to have beter quality than the show. Surprisingly though it is the same. This means that is is not quite as good as the other OVAs which it will measured up against. The starting sequence is good but the animation never reaches those heights again. Sound The music is very good though... See full review

Story Very good, funny. It is very simplistic which does not take anything away from it. It has a very honest charm which you can't help falling for. It is very relatable in that a normal person is using their power for things a normal person would do and not going round kicking bad guys.   Animation Overall the animation is o.k. The really well animated sections of day to day life are not a good mix with the CGI used. This feels very clunky and noticable. This is a shame because there are some excellent sections Sound The music is very fitting. It is simple and so plays to the quirky charm... See full review

Story Familiar Ghibli themes. I have watched quite a well of these films and have loved every one I have watched. Howl's Moving castle is no exception. The storyline is new and different, but if you have watched others some familiar themes seep through such as the futility of conflict. That is not to say that the story is not goo. It is, very.   Animation Excellent. This is normally what attracts people to view the Ghibli work and they will not be disappointed. It is amazing to look at.  Sound The music is, once again, excellent. It fits the film so well. It adds something to all the... See full review

Story Good, more mature than most of the other Ghibli works. There are familiar themes but it is slightly more hard edged than previous offerings.  Animation Very good, fluid. The animation is excellent. It is hard to properly appreciate when it is what we have come to expect. I would say that you can notice a difference from the older releases, more of a smoothness.  Sound There is a strong vocal performance and the music is excellent.  The music serves to heighten every emotion that the viewer is lead through by the story. It adds a lot to the overall production. ... See full review

Story Not really one. Not a fantastic amount happens. We do see, however some excellent character interaction and it does exude a charm which you can not help but fall for.  Animation As you would expect, brilliant.  Sound As in most Ghiblis the music is very good at setting the tone and mood and the voices used are excellent   Characters Good introduction, nothing really happens. There is no growth but plenty of interaction along the lines that were set out form the introductions to the characters.  Overall O.K., good for younger fans. I would still recommend... See full review

Story The storyline is very good. It is not that original though. You don't realkly care when the action animation is as good as it is. Animation It feels slightly dated, but the action animation is incredible. Definitely worth 48 mins of your time just to watch that. Sound The music is used well, it sets the mood and tone in a way that doesn't take anything away from what is happening on screen. At no point does it become a distraction. The voices are very well done and the mix of languages is handled very well.  Characters Not much is shown by way of character development. You get... See full review

Story Interesting enough, a little contrived. The story is good, but has the same 'don't make nature mad or it will come get you' idea as a lot of other films and parallels can be drawn with Princess Mononoke.  Animation Very well made. Excellent considering the age of this animated feature. Did a lot to create the signature Ghibli style.  Sound The vocal performance is very good. I particularly enjoy the performances put in by thebig name dub actors. The music fits well and adds to the films atmosphere throughout.  Characters Good characters, go against stereotypes. No... See full review

Story Could have been so much better. You are left feeling slightly put out by the ending and throughout there is too much empahsis on the past.    Animation Not at same standard. It is still very good, put lacking something from the prequel.    Sound The music is as good as in Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal and the voices are as excellent also   Characters Interesting angle on well-known characters. This look to the future gives more time to the development. The characters are done extremly well and very convincingly. There is excellent portrayal of the emotional pain and... See full review

Story O.K, deep development in places, maybe too deep. It is guilty of spending quite a lot of time on certain areas. Still, it is a very good story about Kenshin's inner conflict.    Animation Old but good. All scenes, from the touching moments with the love interest to times when the Battousai is at his fearsome best are very well done.    Sound Excellent music. There is a mix of traditional and more modern music that both add to the tone and mood of the show. The voices are off-putting at first, but excellent   Characters Very well written. Kenshin's inner struggles... See full review

Story Excellent, very character driven. As in most Ghibli films it is how the characters react to the situations that surround them that is the real driving force here. That is not to say the story is bad or boring. It is a fantastical adventure.     Animation Usual Ghibli class. Everything is done with such detail that it very quickly stops being animated, in your head at least.   Sound The music is excellent and very in keeping, this is to be expected as the music in almost all of the Ghibli films is borderline perfection. The vocal performances are very strong and increase the bond... See full review

Story Good, but as usual you have to overlook a few things.The story here is heavily driven by the characters, and if you look at it as a singular entity it seems rather thin. The pacing, or lack of any, may not be to everyone's liking but it is not as serious as some of the other films.    Animation Studio Ghibli-y, excellent. You get the real feeling that Hayao Miyazaki is a real plane nut and has taken great pleasure in the animation. Everything looks so good and the detail iinvolved is breathtaking.   Sound The music is extremely suitable. It matches the air and mood the... See full review

Story Pretty boring story, but you won’t notice. If you actually sit down to think about what goes on it isn't that good. You will not be paying attention to the story line though. It looks very good.    Animation Excellent, a visual feast. By far the best thing about this film. It feels very crisp and there are some really nice character designs. The action sequences are also handled very well.    Sound The music is very appropriate to the tone of the film, and adds to the atmosphere that the rest of the production is working towards. The dub is ok, its is not a... See full review

Story O.K. story line. You have to forgive it slightly for trying to do too many things. If it was more simple it may have helped the story's execution.  Animation Excellent, obviously expensive. Everything looks so well and the fighting and action sequences all flow exceptionally well. If you like a good looking anime then this is for you.  Sound There is a great musical score throughout. The voices are neither terrible nor amazing. It is quite hard to pay attention to either of these though. At time syou find yourself saying 'look how good it looks' and missing what is actually... See full review

Story Good. I loved Baccano! and I loved this anime too. The storyline at the start is quite like Baccano!, an eclectic mix of storylines with many different protaganists. I loved how these storylines interwove and built up the complex relationships betwen the characters. The change in tack in the middle ruins it slightly   Animation Brilliant attention to detail. The setting and backgrounds are always brilliantly animated. This makes up for characters looking quite same-y. However the show is about some normal people and how they react to circumstances so characters that don't really stand out... See full review

Story Good, confusing in places and full of cliché. Amazing as an action anime though. It builds to a crescendo in each episode and only slightly disappoints at the end.   Animation Really dark in tone. Very well made. If you enjoyed the original this is markedly better. The action sequences are excellent and fluid and the facial expressions are all done really well. This being an OVA that is to be expected. 
Sound Both the music and voices are superbly fitted to the series. The music is borderline epic at certain points but it feels like it is tryin too hard. The dub is... See full review

Story Isn’t really an overriding one. The anime is made up of 2 half storylines per episode. Only very occasionally do these halves have any effect on another. There wasn't really supposed to be a story line. It is just a bit of fun. Each episode is quite funny in its own right, but if you like your anime to have  point and go towards that, then this isn't for you.   Animation Childish, but suitable to tone of the show. It is not really the action anime that it was spawned from. It is meerly a source of humour. The animation may put some off at first but you won't really notice after a... See full review

Story Amazing plotline. This reoeats some of the start of the original but then goes on to do bigger and better things. I feel that this is a more complete production in my opinion. The story gives more closure and reaches a very satisfying conclusion.   Animation Awesome, truly awesome. Looks pretty much flawless. You could say that perhaps it was a little vivid, colour-wise, in places but this meant that the darker-in-tone scenes stayed away from straying into being too gloomy    Sound Brilliant vocal cast, one of the best assembled. It is very hard to separate the voices from the... See full review

Story Excellent. Clever enough to avoid cliché traps. It is bordering on crazy at points. If you strip back all the bravado it is about a boy's growth. This is done rather well especially when it skips forward to when he has grown.   Animation Little too childish at points but still very good. It follows the tone of the show though. It is highly charged and very vivid. It is very crisp and obviously had a large budget. Watch out for the final battle scene, it is something you won't forget.   Sound A good vocal performance is accompanied by some excellent and well fitting music. The... See full review

Story Excellent, truly excellent. It is very character driven but the situations that the characters have to deal with are all very believable, in the setting, and each character has their own things to deal with.   Animation Dated when compared to some more modern offerings, but still good. In some places the CGI doesn't fit in as well as it should.   Sound The voices used are excellent, for those people who are not a fan of dubbed anime this is one of the better examples to ease in to. The music used is probably the best soundtrack used in an anime to date   Characters All very... See full review