mustardbomb

Dragon Ball Z sets the bar pretty low for shows that only include "durfighting" for their entire run. Bleach, Fullmetal Alchemist, Yu-Yu Hakusho, all bad shows, but they're at least above DBZ. Enter Inuyasha.

You've heard of the bar being low, Inuyasha grabs hold and drags it to the depths of hell.

A black hole of virtually anything enjoyable, I can't see how most anyone could possibly enjoy this.

But alright, enough bland insults and let's get to some analyzing!

The premise (I refuse to call it a story) of the series is the ultimate in McGuffin: A random jewel... See full review

I, for one, am okay with a more surreal experience. I enjoy nonlinear narratives, or cases where there is little narrative to be had. In other reviews I've expressed a fondness for David Lynch, which should encapsulate all I'm trying to say here.

I've also, in the past, expressed a hate for shows that aim to hit this kind of unique, abstract mark, and fail miserably. This, is what Spirited Away falls under.

As we watch Chihiro blunder around this spirit world, we are of course greeted to its inhabitants. These spirits all take crazy, wacky forms, and are interesting to look at. Very... See full review

Given the choice between a nice, calm, every-day-life sort of anime, and one crammed to the brim with meaningless supernatural drivel, I will, of course, choose the former. Any level-headed person will agree, obviously.

Haruhi, melancholy, that train-wreck of a title, starts off as the former. I enjoy seeing the regular high-school shenanigans of the gang. They are all well written characters who are simply a joy to watch prance about. The dialogue sounds natural, they are acceptably (If not averagely) drawn, and they're even funny (!) at times, who'd believe that?

Then, and you'll start... See full review

Picture this, if you will: A magical world set in an old timey setting, where "modern" conveniences are shoved aside in favor of a more mystical alternative. People tie their soul to an object, jump between our world and a "spirit world", there's a government regulating use of this fantastical hornswoggle, and all around mythical things happen.

If you thought I was describing the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, the anime I'm reviewing, you are wrong.

That is the world of Harry Potter. The first book was published in 1997.

The first chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist was... See full review

Gratuitous. If I had to write a one word review (As I often do), it would be gratuitous.

But not, and I repeat NOT, in any enjoyable, redeemable, or sensible way. This show is pure excess, and I have no idea who has the gall to suggest it even be shown to kids.

Take other animes, they are wholesome, safe, funny, and family friendly, as all cartoons should be. I come home one day, and find my little brother watching this...Elfen Lied.

Breasts, blood, coarse language and nonsensical drivel. That is all that awaits our viewer. Even if a kid could get past the former without becoming... See full review

 2012 has brought us a lot of great Anime. From another to Fate/Zero, it has been a great year so far, and I can’t wait to see what fall/winter will bring us. For now, Sword Art Online is an amazing show airing right now in 2012. I’ve seen Angel Beats, Legend of the Galactic Hero, and Clannad, and dear this show is better than all of them! Well now to the review. Also, I am very aware of the controversial this anime has produced among the community, so please bear with me while reading this review. Sword Art Online is a pioneer of its genre in that, the source material dates from all the... See full review

There is one thing I love in animation, and hell, production in general. When people are shown playing instruments, they hit the actual notes, strike the right drums/cymbals. K-ON!, as a show centered around a music club, nails this. It is a visual pleasure to watch these girls play, simply because it is right. It is correct. It is well done!

The characters themselves also look nice. In a world of little ragamuffin schoolgirls infiltrating every anime, height is welcomed! Are they still trite personality wise? Hell yes they are. They're the same 5 girls we see in every show, just with a slight name... See full review

Wow! I really needed a change of pace, and this murder mystery series really filled that void.

And I do love mysteries, I really do, but where this anime shines is it's direction. The show's directing takes obvious inspiration from American Noir films of the '40s, and I can really appreciate that. The style definitely improves what was already a good story.

The art and voice acting also play into this. Nothing is over the top, nothing is exaggerated. All the stylistic choices went for the more low-key option making subtlety king. You can watch episodes multiple times and pick up different... See full review

Brilliance at its finest! Wow! Hit it out of the park.

So I was on Netflix, and I saw this show. And it was like "Huh, no idea what the hell this is." I turned it on and was hooked! They just blew me away, episode after episode.

The crux of their success lies in their characters. Each one a gem, filling a role, and still being developed into a three dimensional person. It's easy to just cajole them into archetypes, but they go so beyond that. Every single one of them has significant story arcs, and evolves over the show's (Disgustingly short) run.

I simply can't lavish... See full review

Oh man, this is comedy done right! The writing in this show is just astounding, and every anime needs to take a page out of it's book.

So we begin our look at the show with its core, the characters. All are so unique, and the clashing personalities make for such fun times around the Shin Chan household.

First, we have Shin Chan himself, lovable little bastard. He's like Stewie Griffin if gay jokes ever became unfunny. (Read: 1987) That is, he's smart, cynical, and way funnier than a kid should ever be.

Then we have the parents, who, in a turn from classic television tropes, are... See full review

It isn't often I find an anime that not only is good for my kid brother, but is enjoyable for me as well. I found this gem of a show while watching Fox's Saturday morning cartoon block with said brother, and boy, was I hooked.

I know, I know, getting hooked on a kid's show? Sounds silly, no? But believe me, there is a lot here for the more mature crowd. Think of other "for everyone" cartoons like Spongebob or Regular Show, you'll find One Piece falls under that umbrella very well.

The slapstick-like humor in the show is backed with witty dialogue, and quite often I find it sails... See full review

The manga storyline was very slightly, and I do mean very, intriguing, and since the anime is rated so highly, I decided to give it a chance and hope the animation would not be the typical fake glossy stuff we get now, the voice acting would not be shrill typical moe quality, and that the promised added details and stories would be interesting. Unfortunately, every one of those hopes was failed.

First of all, the art and animation is mostly terrible. Sure some of the movement is "slick", but the animation is always glossy, the character art is as bad as you would expect from the manga made... See full review

Ok. David Lynch. Great director, often deals in surrealism. Dude is accomplished, and helped popularize that whole surrealist style.

FLCL. An abortion of an anime aiming to be surreal and out-there but ends up falling into the territory of obtuse and "lol SO RANDUM XD".

Seriously, no part of this makes sense. I'd talk about the plot, but there is none! Non-linear story structures are cool, I often enjoy them, but there needs to be some kind of story. Something has to happen. And no, random monster fights aren't an actual plot point. Sorry.

Then we have the characters... See full review

Hello there children! Do you like to be bored? Do you like people talking at you for a few hours? Do you just love it when people think out loud?

Well I have the show for you. Here we have Death Note, something I thought would be a morbid musical but turns out to be a melodrama with all the excitement of two people playing a game of Chinese Checkers.

Seriously, nothing happens in this show. We are just treated to two men yelling in their minds about what they will do, as opposed to actually doing it. (Comes much later, has much less screen time) It disobeys the basic trope of visual media... See full review

I like to think we as a planet have evolved since the early twentieth century. We hold and value others equally, regardless of their appearance/ethnicity, and judge them on merit.

Most of the time anyway, racists and sexists still exist, but they are few and far between, no?

Hm, maybe. But what if an entire writing staff was full of these people? Also the actors who read the produced lines, the artists who agreed to produce this mess, and any other staffers associated with a certain show.

The percentage of bigots in the world seems to be shooting up in recent times, creating somewhat... See full review

Here are two words to set the tone of my review of this...thing: Criminally overrated.

I can't, at this moment, think of a better adjective than criminal, so let's roll with that.

Often, at night, I will be lying down and struck with a fit of sudden insomnia. During these moments I will flip on the TV, and more often than not wind up on Adult Swim. Usually, this is ok. Except for Saturday nights? Why? Saturday night, is anime night, and they pick the worst of the worst to be shown. Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, and worst of all, Cowboy Bebop.

Every episode starts out... See full review

You know what's great about animation in all of its forms? It lets us convey scenes that simply couldn't be done in live action. It lets us use a plethora of sets that would take too much money to construct. It lets us use many different character whereas that many actors is inconceivable.

Ghost in the Shell, of course, does virtually none of these things.

I tend to forget if I'm watching a cartoon, or just talking heads set to a static background image. I went in expecting a series full of tactical and corporate espionage.

What I got was two jack-wagons talking, one without pupils... See full review

Some people like to relive their childhood. I am not one of them. As such, I can't get behind Toradora and its target audience of 11 year old girls.

If you support that then more power to you, but from an outside observer, this is awful pandering. Let's create an idealistic high-school experience and sell it to those who terribly struggled socially! Yeah that'll sell!

The producers know most anime fans have this void to fill in their lives, and how do they fill it? Watching factious people and living vicariously through them.

Truly, truly awful.

I honestly felt like I was... See full review

Time is a funny thing. A veil more than a man-made concept, it is the ultimate in distorting, masking and outright changing our perception of the world around us. Go ahead, go revisit a Looney Tunes episode, you'll find it awful. Or perhaps take another look at the Titanic film your parents rented as a kid, you'll appreciate it.

So yes, Akira, right, this is a review. The point I'm trying to make is, the perception people have of something can evolve over time, often beyond its merits. Something's legacy can often grow past it's own shadow, and we remember it as more grandiose when we... See full review

This anime is awful, as it is incessantly asinine. If asininity is your type of thing, then great, you like complete bullshit, but this is an anime with no storyline (it is not even notable when compared to other animes like this; I have never seen less of a story). The characters are 'developed' since that is the only thing the anime focuses on, but all of the characters are pitiful in some manner or another. The anime will spend thirty seconds to a minute repeating the VERY same moment or delaying something, so be prepared for that. Of course, the art is awful (yes, I am sure that the creators picked this... See full review

Rating an anime highly just because it discusses that being an otaku is okay? Give me a break.

This series, first of all, has terrible art and animation. The character art is that kind of lumpy facial style that seems to be the default shabbiest "acceptable" anime art form for people. It is completely lacking in style, substance, or detail. I am not just lashing out at random or trying to claim authority, this is seriously true; for instance, characters nearly never have elbows if their arms are straight (e.g. episode 3, near the end Kousaka randomly loses his elbows when he is crouched... See full review

I do not even know what to say to make a convincing argument since people just like things sometimes, and it seems completely incompatible with everything good about anime. The manga had a bit of a cute appeal with an okay story, but all of that is buried in this movie.

The art, average to slightly good in the manga, is replaced with triangle faced characters whose eyes may or may not pop out of their heads depending on the moment. The shading is completely random, often covering exactly one half of the face, which might make sense (and still be incompatible with how shading works in real life) in a... See full review

In a nutshell, the least successful amalgam of comedy and drama that I have ever seen.

As a comedy, Steins;Gate ranges tolerable to entertaining, but as a drama, it falls apart completely. Its characters are mostly comical and unbelievable, yet it expects you to take their plights seriously. The grim tale of fighting the inevitable that begins around the midway point is predicated on half a series of the main characters engaging in the kind of stupid and thoughtless behavior that is only acceptable within the context of comedy.

It operates on a kind of dating sim logic where almost all the... See full review