Anime Reviews

I haven't given numeric ratings. Numeric ratings are always subject to misinterpretation; many people get upset about average ratings unless "average" titles are given a 7 or thereabouts, and that doesn't leave much room to distinguish between good and outstanding titles.

Unless I've said otherwise, all titles have at least an English track, a Japanese track, and English subtitles available. I haven't commented on technical standards as for the most part I don't really care... I've also skimped on the Extras coverage in some cases.

I've made some notes about what I like at the end.

3x3 Eyes (Region 1, 2 DVDs, 7 "episodes") - import Extras: image gallery; dub voice actor filmography 3x3 Eyes is the story of a "demon", the last survivor of her race, seeking to become human. It has a strong emphasis on action, with truly astonishing amounts of gore (due to a second main character who is essentially immortal) although the fantastic elements make these less disturbing than they would be in a more realistic milieu. In many ways this is essentially heroic fantasy in a modern setting, with heroes seeking to protect the unaware "regular" humans around them, while yearning to be of them. The protagonists (Pai, the demon, and Yakumo, her indestructible "Wu") both spend the bulk of their time of their quest to become human. Pai adds some interesting colour in that her main personality is quite sweet and innocent, but when her third eye opens she takes on a second aspect (Sanjiyan) who is more of an elemental force, with immense power but very little apparent concern for those around her. Sanjiyan softens noticeably as the OAVs progress, which reduces the impact of this difference somewhat. At the same time, love grows between Pai and Yakumo - and somewhat predictably plays a role in resolving the plot. (It's a good love story, but a little predictable.) The plot is wrapped up in a conclusion which is satisfying while avoiding the sort of all-inclusive wrapup where absolutely everything is fine in the end. Problems remain, but they are such that the merely human can deal with them. Altogether this is one of the better anime of its sort that I have seen. It has considerably more point and character development than X: The Motion Picture. Don't come here for humour, and definitely don't come here if you have a weak stomach, but 3x3 Eyes is a thrilling and touching tale well told.

Barefoot Gen (all regions) - import Extras: none (that I recall) Barefoot Gen concerns a young boy living in Hiroshima at the time that the Bomb is dropped near the end of WW2. It first outlines the difficulties of family life in Japan as the war draws to a close (primarily the problems of hunger imposed by rationing); then gives a horrifying view of the effects of the Bomb itself. Finally it deals with the period afterwards as the characters seek to regain some semblance of reality in their lives. No attempt is made to hide the fault of Japan in launching the war in the Pacific theatre. The privations of war are treated fairly neutrally, and no attempt is made to paint the Americans as villains. If fault is placed anywhere, it is placed on the leaders of Japan. The images of the impact of the Bomb are fairly explicit and horrifying. Flesh melts away; people burst into flame; houses are swept into heaps of fiery rubble. Afterwards, rescue is difficult, and in some cases impossible. The victims of radiation sickness die, while the minimal remaining infrastructure collapses under a sudden immense load. However, the core message of the film is a simple one: life goes on. Even in the midst of such desperation, people seek to live, and while they sometimes crack under the pressure, most people shown are basically decent and caring. This is serious drama and well worth watching. It gives a much-needed view of the everyday people of Japan as the victims of their own leaders, rather than as the rabid villains beloved of much WW2 fiction. Recommended.

Black Jack (Region 4) Extras: Previews Black Jack is essentially a medical thriller, with mild SF elements, set in what was at the time a "near future" setting (1996-1998). The premise is that "superhumans", with extraordinary physical and mental abilities, will rise to the fore in the near future and come to dominate the sporting and intellectual stage. However, not all is as it seems... The anime makes good use of light and shadow, and characters are largely well-rounded. The plot develops satisfactorily, although the timing of certain events is a little derived, and the major plot "twist" is not difficult to see coming. The ending is a little disappointing, with a lack of resolution of the core peril of the movie being used as the basis for a very artificial and forced ecological moral which basically just doesn't fit in with the rest of the feature. It's a decent watch. I've seen worse. On the other hand, it lacks the power of Perfect Blue or Serial Experiments Lain. Altogether fairly average.

Boogiepop Phantom (Region 1, 4 volumes) Extras: Image galleries, production notes. Boogiepop Phantom centers around odd occurrences in a city in the near future. People with some very odd "gifts" turn up after a night when a mysterious column of light appears. The show is very dark and moody in style. Basically very weird all 'round. No comedy elements to speak of. Individual episodes are mostly stand-alone; there is a story arc, but figuring it out is mostly left to the viewer. The episodes cross-reference each other, so as you watch the picture starts to assemble itself, but for the first few episodes you really do wonder what the heck is going on. There are occasional episodes of graphic violence, including several murders and a couple of suicides, but ultimately the series presents a positive message of not dwelling in the past. Boogiepop bears some thematic and stylistic resamblances to Lain, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much - probably because the puzzle presented is more complex. However, I suspect that repeated viewings will be even more rewarding than Lain; basically, while I like Boogiepop less, I think it is the better show. But both are recommended. However, if you're after something fun to watch, Ranma or Martian Successor is probably the better bet.

Cardcaptors (region 4, 3 volumes with more to come) Extras: This seems to differ from the US release; what I've read of the US release indicates that the first few episodes are missed. However, the region 4 release starts with the first episode, setting the scene for the rest of the series. Basically this is a kid's show, and it shows, with the main human characters being quite young and the usual school concerns. Occasionally it has its deeper moments, such as when Sakura is pondering her mother (who she loved very much, but who died some years earlier). Similar in many ways to Pokemon and its ilk, albeit in a more familiar setting. However, I enjoyed Cardcaptors more than I have the Pokemon I've seen, probably because the show refuses to take itself very seriously. Each card capture involves a different costume, with assorted wacky designs, and a special fashion segment at the end of each episode. Like I said, the show doesn't take itself very seriously. I have trouble seeing this as a bad thing. Each DVD only has three episodes, and the episodes are themselves quite short, so unfortunately there's not a lot of material - about 70 minutes per DVD. However, the price point per DVD is fairly low (about $20-$25 each). Probably the best of the kids' anime I've seen. Worth watching if you can put up with the stigma of watching kids' anime. :-)

Lain: Serial Experiments (region 4, 4 volumes) Extras: Negligible Weird, but a good weird. Lain presents a coherent story, but as it proceeds earlier things that had left you mystified are explained. Watch it again and you find all sorts of things that you had missed the first time around. Lain lives in a sepia, washed out world of overbright summer days and peculiar happenings. The artistic style gives the show a unique feel reminiscent of Boogiepop Phantom in many ways (although far less bloody than Boogiepop). It's not quite whimsical; Lain deals with issues of life, death and the nature of reality, and so its subject matter is too solid for whimsy. But you can tell that the makers had fun making it. Lain is highly recommended.

Love Hina (region 1, 8 volumes) - import Extras: Character sketches/artwork This review covers only the first volume at this point. Love Hina concerns Keitaro, a young man trying hard to get into Tokyo University (his third attempt). He is desperate to get in because of a long-standing pledge to rejoin the only girl he ever really got on with back at Tokyo U. - a friendship from over a decade previously... He is also the manager of a girls-only dormitory. The standard anime hijinks from the nerdy-guy-surrounded-by-mob-of-girls scenario ensue. I've heard Love Hina criticised for its fan service, but to be honest I didn't notice it. There's a lot of borderline stuff, but primarily this serves only as an excuse for one of the female leads to belt Keitaro into orbit. The aforesaid belting happens frequently enough to get tiresome after a while. It's fairly light stuff, where even the serious moments don't take themselves very seriously - but the serious moments are there, and add much-needed depth to what would otherwise be wincingly empty pap. But the show deals with issues of honesty (and the moral dilemma of the "white lie"), of the impact of parental separation, and other issues. Its exploration of these issues takes it beyond what would otherwise be a fairly empty experience. Overall an enjoyable experience. However, I do hope that future episodes are a little less cliched. Not as fun as Nadesico, probably on a par with Slayers.

Martian Successor Nadesico (region 4, 6 volumes) Extras: Character Notes; translation notes on one volume. With its outrageous captain and goofy crew, the Nadesico is not your standard space battleship. MSN parodies any number of anime series, notably Star Blazers and Macross, but what makes the show shine is the characters. The crew of the Nadesico is pulled from all walks of life - including some you might not expect (such as a pilot who is a cook, and a navigator who was a cartoon voice actor). It's the characters who make Nadesico; love triangles and other polygons, enthusiasm about a fictional anime (Gekigangar 3) with soap opera moments, and of course outrageous responses to both ordinary and very silly situations. While Nadesico trails off into nothing much (the ending is a little disappointing) the series as a whole gives a rollicking ride on the way. Nadesico is just very funny. Animation is top-notch, voice performances are spot-on (although the japanese puns don't translate well). Altogether top entertainment.

Neon Genesis Evangelion (8 volumes, region 4) Extras: Notes on characters and selected "Angels". Neon Genesis starts off seemingly as just another giant robot flick. As the show continues, it gets deeper and deeper; exploring the breaking point of the human soul, the nature of loneliness, and the future of humanity. There are those who were disappointed in the ending; I wasn't one of them. The only real problem I have with NGE is that Spike Spencer, who voices Shinji Ikari (the central character) in the English dub, seems to have trouble lending variety to his expressions of strong emotion. Basically when he gets emotional he starts yelling, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of range to his expression once the volume gets high. The fact that 26 episodes are spread across eight volumes is also annoying, but at least it keeps compression artefacts to a minimum. NGE is one of the Anime "standards" used as a benchmark when comparing other anime. This is for good reason; it's a good show, with both action and pathos, and shouldn't be missed.

Ninja Scroll (region 4) Extras: Decent plot, interesting characters, and buckets of blood (as is fairly typical of Ninja movies), but the gore is mostly kept under control. A couple of sex scenes in there (including one which is quite gross) but nothing particularly gratuitous - everything is in there for a reason. To be honest Ninja Scroll is a little too bloody for my tastes, but given the premise of the movie it's not too over-the-top, and the ending is worthwhile. Basically bittersweet; the bad guys cop it, but the good guys also have their problems... Ninja scroll is a fairly decent Ninja/fantasy anime. Better than average, somebody with a stronger stomach and a stronger preference for action than I would probably give it a higher rating.

Oh! My Goddess (2 volumes, regions 1,2,4) - import Extras: Commentary tracks (which I didn't much like); opening/closing songs less credits; others. The first volume is the first three OAV episodes, with more of a romantic comedy feel. The second volume is more a straight romance, with fewer laughs but more pathos. The story is of a young man given one wish by a goddess (Belldandy); the wish he chooses is for her to be his girlfriend. I liked this series very much. The English voice actors do a very good job, with the voice of Keichi in particular producing a strong, likable character. The comedy isn't as consistently funny as Ranma or Martian Successor, but then there is much more to the story than there is in those two shows. Belldandy falls into the role of the traditional Japanese wife a little too readily; I gather that the original manga is not quite as straightforward. The commentary track is singularly unhelpful; basically it's the voice actors, commenting and joking about the show. However, the feeling is more one of listening to a bunch of random strangers wisecracking about a show - there's very little real insight to be gained. However, on the whole the two volumes present a touching tale, well told, with enough drama and heartbreak to give it some depth.

Perfect Blue (region 1, 2, 4) Extras: Voice Actor interviews, "Cham" recording session, image gallery. Perfect Blue is a drama/thriller with excellent production standards and a script which keeps you guessing until the last ten minutes or so of the feature. The movie revolves around a pop idol, Mina, whose decision to pursue an acting career leads rapidly into some seamier scenes which rapidly tarnish her whiter-than-white pop star image. Suffice to say that some of her fans are not happy about this; it is difficult to say more without exposing large chunks of the plot, unfortunately... There is a point in the anime where we start to doubt Mina's sanity; her grasp on reality shudders and almost breaks, but the conclusion ties up the plot nicely, leaving no loose ends. Of course, this has its downside, as a script with no loose ends loses some of its power to ask questions... On the whole, despite some not-quite-gratuitous nakedness and some extraordinarily gory scenes, I found I quite enjoyed Perfect Blue. I can see why the critics liked it; while it doesn't quite suit my tastes, it really is an extraordinary film.

Ranma 1/2 Digital Dojo (Boxed Set, 4 DVDs, region 1) - import Extras: Ranma is a very macho young man (and top-flight martial artist) cursed to turn into an attractive young girl whenever splashed with cold water. (Hot water turns him back). The Digital Dojo is the entire first season of the TV series of Ranma 1/2 on four DVDs. Consistently funny; the unstated but very real romance between Akane and Ranma (which, of course, neither of them will ever admit to) lends it a firm foundation. Ranma's curse complicates his life enormously - for example, Upperclassman Kuno, who starts by seeking Akane's affections, later falls in love with "the pigtailed girl" - AKA Ranma's female half. I must make special mention of the opening song; it's the most infectiously bouncy song I've heard for ages. The Digital Dojo is probably the funniest series I have encountered. No other series, with the possible exception of Martian Successor Nadesico, had me laughing as loudly and consistently. If you like comedy, and can live without the F/SF trappings of most anime, you can't go wrong with Ranma.

Ranma 1/2 OAV Series (Box Set, 3 DVDs, region 1) - import Extras: Opening/closing songs less credits. More adventures from the cast of Ranma, as fully fleshed out sometime after the end of the first season. Also very funny, although quality varies a little more. I didn't find these as funny as the first series (the Digital Dojo) but there's a lot more variety in setting and of course with the filled-out cast there's more opportunity for mayhem. Still highly recommended, however.

Saber Marionette J (6 DVDs in 3 box sets, all regions) - import Extras: Music Videos; character summaries. Paper-thin plot and mostly fairly shallow characters, but lots of fun. Over-the-top voice acting (particularly for Lime, voiced by Lisa Ortiz) lends the series a vibrancy which is hard to beat. The Marionettes all love the main male character very deeply, but for most of the series this seems more the love of a puppy for its master than anything deeper. However, as the series progresses the marionettes mature, and Otaru matures in his understanding that being loved implies a responsibility for care in turn. The series is not as over-the-top funny as Martian Successor Nadesico or Ranma, but it's still very much a fun series to watch. Basically a very good, but not really outstanding, series.

Sailor Moon S (Heart Collection 1) (Region 1) - import Extras: karaoke version of opening song; character review of Sailor Moon This is one of the few DVDs I've watched where I've found the subtitled version to be notably superior to the dubbed version. The differences between the two versions are quite noticeable; translations differ radically, to the extent that the subbed and dubbed versions are sometimes talking about completely different things, to an extent I had not seen previously. Usually the changes seemed to be in the direction of dumbing down the dialogue. Voice quality in Japanese vs. English is of a similar order - I find Sarena/Sailor Moon's English dub voice mildly annoying, but that's also true of the Japanese voice. Basically the differences were of such an order that I started watching it in English and not liking it much, but finished watching it in Japanese finding it to basically be a good (but not outstanding) series. The story concerns Sailor Moon and the "Scouts", with two new "rivals" (Sailors Neptune and Uranus), who are basically decent people doing occasionally less decent things for "end justifies the means" sorts of reasons. Throw in a couple of genuine blackhearted villains trying to steal "pure hearts" and you have the core story. Basically an OK series; I enjoyed it less than Slayers or Cardcaptors, but it was still fun. Think of it as having an average rating - whatever number you may think of an average rating as. :-) I really do recommend the subtitled version in this case, however.

The Slayers (Box set, 4 DVDs, all regions) - import Extras: Character introductory clips; DVD-ROM features; previews; voice actor interviews Slayers is a good, fun series, featuring the adventures of the sorceress Lina Inverse and assorted hangers-on. Slayers doesn't pretend to be anything more than a rollicking good adventure. It is that, and funny to boot, although not as funny as the Saber Marionette J series and definitely not as funny as Ranma or Martian Successor. The characters manage to get themselves into some very tricky situations, and frequently seem to leave locations at a run. Slayers definitely has its moments (Prince Philionel, a dedicated pacifist, with his PACIFIST CRUSH!!, or Gourry's vision of what Amelia would do if she knew Lina's second-most powerful spell, the Dragon Slave, spring to mind). I enjoyed it, but while it was a good show it wasn't a great one. Personally I liked it more than, say, Ninja Scroll, although I suspect Ninja Scroll is the better show (just less to my tastes). Recommended if you're after a fairly straightforward adventure series with strong comedy elements.

The Slayers NEXT (Box set, 4 DVDs, all regions) - import Extras: Character introductory clips; DVD-ROM features; previews; voice actor interviews This is the second season of Slayers, following on from the first season reviewed immediately above. The second season of Slayers is a little more serious than the first (although it still has strong comedy elements). The protagonists confront some genuine moral dilemmas. The world-shattering conclusion rounds off this series very well. Basically the second series emphasises high adventure and is less episodic; Babylon 5 to Season 1's Star Trek: TNG. While the first season was essentially chewing-gum anime, something to enjoy until something better comes along, the second season carries enough depth to be worth watching for its own sake.

Slayers Book of Spells (Region 1) - import Extras: Trailers Slayers: Book of Spells is a prequel to the Slayers series, falling after Slayers the Motion Picture, and featuring Lina Inverse and her pre-series sidekick Nahga the Serpent. It includes three OAV episodes, of which the first ("Scary Chimera Plan") is most memorable. The episodes are fun, better than the first series and possibly better than the Motion Picture, but ultimately this is still Slayers and as such generally funny but (barring odd occasions) not uproariously so.

Wicked City (Region 4) Extras: While this is a decent movie at its core, the seemingly gratuitous sex scenes mixed with over-the-top horror really turn me off this movie. The story is one of an interdimensional peace conference (basically between humans and demons) where the two main characters are bodyguards for one of the delegates - one bodyguard from each dimension. However, their role turns out to be a little more important than they were expecting... If they had stripped out the more extreme parts of this movie I think I would have enjoyed it considerably. You might enjoy it if you have a strong stomach.

X: The Motion Picture (Region 4) Extras: This is just a very brief outline review: X: The Motion Picture follows on the events of the "Tokyo Babylon" episodes and features some of the same characters. Unfortunately X: The Motion Picture is more of a "fight movie" than anything else; remove the battles and there is very little meat left. Basically lots of eye candy, no real depth. A real disappointment.