sothis

Story
Burn Up W takes place in Tokyo, and revolves around a group of girls who make up Warrior, an undercover police force that takes the cases the normal cops can't handle. Unlike some cop shows that focus on different stories, Burn Up W focuses on one arc that involves terrorists who want to do various nefarious things.

After seeing Burn Up (and enjoying it), I was excited to check out the next thing chronologically, Burn Up W. Needless to say I was very disappointed, and hopefully by the end of reading this you'll know why. Let's start with the type of show this is. Burn Up was a... See full review

Story
After the events of Blue Seed, the Aragami have been destroyed, and the world is safe. Unfortunately, this relatively short period of peace is upset when the Aragami return, this time on the other side of the world in San Francisco! Of course, Momiji and co. go there to check out the threat, and thus the story begins.

Blue Seed 2 has some major, major problems. First of all, I’ve never seen a several part OVA (as a sequel to a TV series) work. From Fushigi Yuugi to DNA to El Hazard Magnificent World 2, these standalone arcs always seem boring and uninteresting, and in general... See full review

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It's really hard to talk about Beyond the Clouds without spoiling (for the record, I feel NFO and AniDB both spoil in their descriptions... as they both use the same description), so I'll stick to what happens in the beginning. What's implied, but not really discussed in detail, is that Japan underwent a split after they lost the war, and Hokkaido became the land of Ezo. A great tower was also built but its purpose was unknown until decades later. In the present, however, three friends enjoy a summer together. Two of them, Hiroki and Takuya, have constructed a plane over the years... See full review

Story
Taking place in Earth, in what seems to be the 80s, Blue Seed follows the story of a young woman named Momiji as she learns of her fate as the Kushinada. Japan is under attack by Aragami, creatures that appear to be monsters, but the general public doesn’t know much about these occurences. The Kushinada is supposed to be fated to be sacrificed, because only the Kushinada can make all the Aragami disappear. For bumbling Momiji, this means being thrown into a life of monster hunting, as well as being paired up with the unlikeliest of partners: Kusanagi, a part human part Aragami fellow. ... See full review

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When this six minute featurette begins to play, it clearly says it's an amateur anime. That being said, this is fairly obvious in most aspects, from the story to the inconsistent animation. This is the story section, though, so I'll discuss it a bit. Keep in mind this review in general won't be very long due to the feature only being six minutes. :)

I've always been interested in the mating rituals of kids in Japan, because it seems so childish. Giving someone a note if you are interested in them, even if you barely know them, is fascinating to me and reminds me of elementary... See full review

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Ahh Gravion. I recall the first time I saw episode one in all its glory, with its fantastic "Situation Clitical" line that spread through the ears of fanboys like wildfire, becoming famous in the process. I remember seeing the ridiculous chest size of one of the characters (along with a jiggle that would make Jello proud) and the overall ecchiness, and promptly putting it down, never to see it again. After being sent a screener of Zwei, I don't really have much of a choice than to watch the first series in its entirety, eh? And thus, the review begins...

From the depths of the... See full review

Story
Having seen all the other Shadow Skill series (TV, the OVA, and Epilogue), I was excited to see what this new OVA would be all about. All I knew is that it was 100% CG, but knew nothing about the story, music, or anything else.

Unfortunately, I walked away a little disappointed.

First of all, if you'd like to know how this fits in with the other Shadow Skill titles, please click the AniRec link above, then click the blue "i" for detailed information on relations, what order you should watch them in, and more.

This Shadow Skill title is fairly standalone... See full review

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I've seen quite a few parodies of the mecha/superhero type genre, including Del Power X, Ariel, and a number of others. For the most part, all of them are simply average with nothing but a handful of laughs. Shinesman, on the other hand, I found to be hilarious. Nothing of the caliber of Cromartie, Abenobashi, or other random humor type shows for sure, but definitely a notch above the usual parody show. The plot is filled with hilarious bits such as one of the planet's invaders going off about how stupid and ditzy his worthless sister is, or hilarious character quirks such as a woman who can... See full review

Story
In a world that probably wasn't based on Earth, the population is broken up into psychics and humans. The humans are afraid of the psychics and often times these psychics get killed or in general are driven out of the city. They have to hide their identities and their powers, lest the wrath of the humans come down on them. At the same time, there exists Ashuram, a corporation who employs these psychics (or "E's") to not only help keep the peace between the E's and the humans, but also to developed these psychic powers far beyond those who live in Gald, the slums. When I say slums... See full review

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NightWalker bears a striking resemblance to the Vampire Princess Miyu TV series, with only a few minor differences. First, there are more main characters in Night Walker. Second, NightWalker's arc sometimes end on a positive note, whereas Miyu's episodes almost entirely end in a depressing or solemn manner. Beyond that, however, the two are formulaic to a T: the main character hears about a strange case, finds the people involved, discovers one is possessed, and gets rid of the demon somehow - repeat as needed. Unfortunately the two... See full review

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Darkstalkers is based on the games, which I believe are fighting based. This is fairly obvious when you watch the series, which not only feels like a game, but is full of fighting that happens all the time. The story is loosely based around a central plot to destroy the ruler of the universe, Pyron. He's a demon type guy that appears to be made up of fire, who has come to the world to see if anyone can rival him in strength. If he can't find anyone, well, he'll just destroy the world. The story follows four groups of people as they do various things and ultimately have their fates intertwined... See full review

Story
Having seen nothing in the Saiyuki universe, I was a bit concerned I would have something major spoiled for me by watching the movie. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to watch.

Though there is no introduction to the cast of characters, the story takes place with the cast of the TV series beating up a demon that was in pursuit of a young woman. As a reward they are invited to her master's mansion, where the "fun" begins. Lurking behind the shadows, this master has some plans up his sleeve that are sinister to say the least. Without spoiling, I'll just say it... See full review

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I just want to put a big note at the beginning of this that explains how hard this review is to write. When Twin Spica was first being released, I was probably the largest fan you could have talked to. I convinced everyone I knew to watch it, telling them that it had elements of Planetes and Stellvia, amongst others. It had such, such potential through the first seven episodes, and at that point I stopped watching due to the glacial release schedule. I recently watched the entire series from start to finish, and what I can say is that my feelings completely reversed from sheer enjoyment and... See full review

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Finally, a romance that doesn't suck.

I'll admit I had an aversion against watching Video Girl Ai, due to how incredibly generic-harem-romance-y it seemed to be based on the description and overall plot. In addition, the current main recommendations in the database are Chobits and AMG (which I feel are totally inappropriate), which also turned me off to the idea of watching this. I came away from watching this OVA, however, with a very pleasant feeling, as it's definitely more like Kimi ga Nozomu Eien than any of the above mentioned series.

Our story starts out... See full review

Story
Like Stellvia, Candidate for Goddess is a lighthearted look at kids in space, training to fight a deadly disaster. In Stellvia, it was the upcoming shockwave that would destroy Earth. In Candidate for Goddess, it's invading aliens. Nevertheless, this is my favorite type of series by far, and thus, I was definitely disappointed when the end of Candidate for Goddess rolled around.

The story starts out simple enough: a narrator introduces us to Zion, the only human populated planet left untouched by Victim, invading aliens. Mankind's only defense (surprise surprise) is five giant... See full review

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Candidate for Goddess OVA is essentially a brief recap of the TV series, along with some additional scenes from Ernest and the other Goddess pilots' pasts. Plenty of introspective thought can be found (similar to Evangelion TV 25/26), and in general the entire thing is seen through the eyes of Ernest.

First of all, if you haven't seen the TV series, you have no reason to be watching this. Even if you have seen the TV series, I think you'll find that watching the OVA isn't very fulfilling either. The TV series ends off without actually ending, and explains essentially nothing about... See full review

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Wild 7 is a two part OVA which spans 50 minutes for each part. They are two relatively standalone stories about the Wild 7, a group of seven convicts who have been given a chance: obtain police powers and status and take out bad guys, and earn your freedom. Cyber City Oedo, anyone?

At its core, Wild 7 is a show about bikes and guns, violence and explosions. Each episode deals with trying to take down a different bad guy, but you don't watch it for the plot, you watch it for the action. It's definitely action packed and exciting, but also has a somewhat campy feel to it that makes... See full review

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Hailing from a line of OVAs by Rumiko Takahashi (Mermaid Forest, Fire Tripper, Laughing Target, Maris the Chojo, etc.), One Pound Gospel, like all the others, is set in an entirely different venue than all the others. This time, a boxing ring.

The story centers around young Kosaku Hatanaka, a boxer who doesn't necessarily take things seriously. I know nothing about boxing, so I'll mention one of the main points of the series that I had explained to me. Boxers need to stay within their weight classes in order to fight in it. Thus, boxers often starve themselves and drink no water a... See full review

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Legend of the Forest is cleverly focused on the same topic as its title: the forest. Produced by the famous Osamu Tezuka in the late 80s, this 30 minute movie (which has a few definite sections) is voiceless and is basically a good old "here's why humans and the environment don't mix and why we shouldn't kill animals and cut down trees" story.

Hey, I'm all for humans being wiped out and am a firm believer in the idea that our planet would be better off without us. That being said, though I understand Legend of the Forest's message, it was portrayed in such a terrible manner that I... See full review

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Wow. I was told to watch Dragon Century from a friend that has similar tastes, but I must say I was skeptical. I've seen quite a few older series and for the most part, I've found that most of them are quite crappy or uninteresting, or crude in some fashion. What a surprise when I finished watching Dragon Century and found myself thinking "wow, that was fantastic!" It's very hard to describe the plot of Dragon Century, since the two episodes have hundreds of years between them, and have a very unique feel. In the first episode, we see a very apocalyptic look at Hokkaido, where... See full review

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Having seen none of the Ninku TV series (which centers around the same characters for many, many episodes), I didn't know what to expect out of this movie. Weighing in at only thirty minutes, I figured there would be no harm in trying. After having seen this, I can say it would be like watching the Kenshin movie without seeing any other Kenshin related thing. It might be entertaining, but it doesn't necessarily stick. The movie starts out with a narration explaining that the Ninku clan was once a powerful tribe of ninjas who have all since died out, except our four heros. This wacky bunch... See full review

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Originally, this three part OVA was actually the last three episodes of the TV series. For some reason it was made into an OVA (an utterly useless one, I might add), and thus I'm reviewing it seperately. The 12 TV episodes end off nicely, yet open ended for another season. The issues with the Mega-Playboy have been resolved (but I won't say how, in case you are reading this without having seen the TV series), everyone is happy and taken care of, and all is well. But like El Hazard Magnificent World, Fushigi Yuugi and a number of other series, the creators just had to throw on some extra crap at... See full review

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As the name would imply, DNA is about ... dna! Specifically, the dna of a young man named Junta who is destined to become the Mega-Playboy. In the future, the world is overpopulated and this Mega-Playboy is the most notorious cause, having fathered 100 children, who each had 100 children, and so on! Karin is sent back in time to stop Junta from becoming the Mega-Playboy, and thus the story begins...

The saving grace of DNA is definitely the humor that stems from Junta's affliction. Whenever he sees a woman's body or anything remotely close to sexual, he vomits everywhere... See full review

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Following in the footsteps of the first season of Galaxy Angel, Galaxy Angel 2 (known as Galaxy Angel Z on R1 DVDs) continued the "story" (or total lack of) with random episodes that have nothing to do with each other. The first season had some kind of continuity in the beginning, or at least for one episode when Nomad joined the gang. After that, the entire season was random, and so is season 2.

The stories range to anything from the crew turning invisible, to one of the crew members deciding to get married, to wrestling matches. Each of these still feels like it badly is trying... See full review

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Like Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider? Explorer Woman Ray will probably appeal to you. Though the name suggests the story will revolve around someone named Ray, for the most part, there isn't a set main character. Ray, indeed, is one of them: she's an archaeologist who is studying the lost civilization of the Ords, a people more advanced than present day humans, who worshipped light and the sun. Ray owns a mirror (passed down from her missing grandfather) that supposedly unlocks the power of the Ords, but everyone else wants it for their own selfish plans. Mai and Mami are two incredibly obnoxious... See full review

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Twilight of the Dark Master is a dark and gritty tale that takes place in Tokyo, in the near future. The world doesn't seem too terribly different, except for one fact: Shinjuku was destroyed a few decades ago by a mysterious white light, and since then, strange things sometimes happen. In the present, a young woman is distraught when terrible things happen to herself and her fiance which, needless to say, involves a fierce demon. Our heroine Shizuka Tachibana then decides to seek out vengeance against this demon, putting her in the path of Tsunami, a demon hunter of sorts.

The... See full review

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Prior to viewing this film, I had already seen the Hi no Tori TV series. The TV series is focused on several different stories that all lead back to the same topic: the phoenix. This movie (the first of the Hi no Tori line) is quite different, focusing instead on a single story with a very sci fi feel.

Humans are grown in test tubes, and raised by only robots until they reach maturity. I seriously wonder why these teenagers aren't completely stunted as far as social skills and emotional growth, but somehow, they seem to be normal human beings once they are let out of the lifelong... See full review

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I've seen bad anime. Baoh and Psychic Wars come to mind as one shot viewings that were so incredibly bad, but were so hilarious at the same time. Think of it like MST3K, but funnier. Ahh, I have fond memories of those two. On the other hand, there are piles of steaming shit such as Wild Cardz and Angelique. Deformed and mutated bastard children such as these have a permanent place on my worst-anime-ever list, and rarely does a new one grace that list's presence. From the depths of hell and good taste, I bring you Crystal Triangle, an anime that proves that even anime creators can be as... See full review

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This 20 minute OVA is an introduction to the television series, and presents a brief story to laugh over. Aya, a popular girl at school, meets Nina, a bumbling witch apprentice. Of course, Aya doesn't believe any of this at first, until the girl's tennis team has to have a match with the boy's team over ownership of the courts. The girls are clearly outmatched, and thus, Nina does something about it: she turns Aya into a boy! Wacky hijinks ensue, but not very many, considering the 20 minute length and all.

I admire short OVAs like this that can have a relatively interesting story... See full review

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First, I want to point out that this OVA has nothing to do with the Suikoden games. As someone who wanted to watch this specifically for that reason (to see if there was any relation), I'd recommend you keep that in mind when reading this review, and when deciding if you'll watch this. The Suikoden legend is based on a Chinese story that was ported over to Japanese beliefs as well, which deals with the 108 stars and such. If there is a direct corollation between this anime and the games, please let me know. Otherwise, unless I'm missing something huge, there are no related... See full review