Usually I am not a fan of remakes, but I did enjoy the Magnificent 7, the western adaption of Akira Kurosawa’s masterwork THE SEVEN SAMURAI. And I did enjoy this re-interpretration of the classic story, though it is a bit surreal. In this Samurai are really supermen that can deflect huge cannon shots with their swords, and their are legions of giant robots, that samurai can dispatch with ease, even though they have powerful weapons. I liked the characters and enjoyed the update.

Wow. I have loved everything GHOST IN A SHELL that I have seen, but was surprised by the fact that this second season actually seemed to top the first season and the laughing man story-line. Sure it isn’t as violent or surreal as the Oshii films of the same name, but this had some hands on by Masamune Shirow which brings it own complexity to the storyline. I must say these 2 series are some of the best anime I have ever seen. I hope they do another season and soon! Check it out on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network if you haven’t seen it as of yet!

REVIEW
CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS…

This is the 10th and final volume of the original series of Patlabor Television series (though there was an OVA that takes place later). This is such a great show, really a Hill Street Blues about cops that pilot giant robots called Patlabor’s and cause huge amounts of destruction in their wake. Such an amazing show which such great, well drawn out characters that it is really a joy to watch.

This is one incredible anime, more a straight science fiction story, than a normal anime (though it does have some anime elements such as the female lead Tanabe, who is all heart, and ideals, and creates the love story that while central isn’t actually the main focus). This is an amazing character piece set in space with a group of the lowliest space workers who collect space debris after a horrible accident 8 years before when a passenger liner lost most of it’s passengers to a screw going through a window. It turns out to be a psychological study of the astronaut Hoshino as well as a treaties on sharing the wealth and technology around the world instead of keeping it in the hands of the wealthiest nations that can afford the spoils. While I have been enjoying SAMURAI CHAMPLOO of late, this tops it for me (I am a lover of true sci-fi, and this is so true, with it’s accurate depictions of zero g and low gravity), and is right up their with LEGEND OF THE GALACTIC HEROES, though unfortunately not nearly as long at only 26 episodes. I am really sad it is over.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…. 

I have always loved Bubblegum Crisis, though the original world the best (Crisis, Crash and AD Police), I just thought the boomers were much cooler being less organic than the 2046 version or the awful remake of AD police. Parasite Dolls is a semi sequel to the original AD police, being a new story about the AD police. And luckily it is a good one.

I have to begin this review by saying I am a huge Miyazaki fan, and have every Studio Gibli film on DVD, and was so excited when I first heard this film was going into production that I went out and bought Diana Wynne Jones’s Children’s novel that this was based on (and it’s almost unrelated sequel). I have literally been on the edge of my seat for years waiting for this, and finally got to see it, though unfortunately I couldn’t find a subtitled print and had to see the dubbed version, which while having a great cast, just wasn’t how I wanted to see it, though it really did not take away from the magic of this film at all. And while this may not be Miyazaki’s best work (how can anything ever touch Nausicaa except his own Manga of the same name), it is certainly one of his best works, and a must see for all fans of anime, and in fact movies in general. Miyazaki has the amazing ability to bring out the wonder in his audience, and even with the small audience I saw this film, everyone was laughing and gasping and so into this that it was a really wonderful experience.

Now the film is greatly changed from the novel, adding in elements of war that were really not there, though touched on in the sequel, and completely changing the ending, but I think even Dianna Wynne Young would be pleased with this, which becomes part her work and part a Miyazaki film.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Hmmm, not sure what to say about this show. It certainly didn’t live up to my expectations from Hamashaki Hiroshi. There aren’t so many deep meanings going on as in his other series, thought it always seemed deeper than it appears to have actually been. Honestly at the end I can’t say exactly what went on. And the annoying static over the animation so often was really starting to annoy the hell out of. I guess this is just about the downfall of humanity, and one man trying to survive no matter what.

I was expecting this to be good because I enjoyed MEZZO FORTE, the ultra violent follow up to Umetsu Yasuomi’s KITE, and this is the continuation, though in TV form. It isn’t quite as violent, though is still as action pact, and has the same great characters thought with an upgrade in the character designs. This is well worth checking out, and I am looking forward to the rest of the series.

Satoshi Kon’s series continues, and it gets even
stranger, after starting to come together in the last volume, and then completely falling apart, these 3 episodes go in a completely different direction with mostly completely new characters (except the character Maromi). This series continues really strong, and I really don’t know what is going on.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…. 

I loved the movie of this, so was intrigued by the series, but was depressed that is wasn’t about Yomiko Readman or agent “Paper,” but I did like the new characters, so I was watching, and was happy to find that it was actually about Yomiko as well as the 3 new Paper Masters, and Yomiko’s best friend. This is an amazing series and really worth checking out. G4 TV has been airing 2 episodes a night, and it is well worth watching.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS….

The latest work from production house Gonzo was deemed too violent for Japanese TV and was edited for content (and it is bloody as can be). My biggest complaint is that this is another DVD with only 2 episodes on it. And the initial box is set for 6 volumes, and the whole season is 11 episodes, so one disc will have only 1 episode! And then their is a second season. Can’t they do 5 episodes to a Disc? The discs would sell better! I mean come on! Youch! Still the series seems pretty interesting. Ultraviolent, and really no idea what is going on or what is going to happen. The 2D and 3D animation is interesting, but the blend doesn’t seem to work perfectly here. Too many locations are 3D with 3D camera moves, but the animation and compositing seems very 2D. It works a bit, but also really shows what is 2D and what is 3D. I have seen the integration be much higher quality.

Review Contains Spoilers:

The continuation of Mezzo is back, and I didn’t really like it this time, certainly not as much as I thought, and certainly not as much as MEZZO FORTE, which had great style, heavy violence and cool characters. Also animation is pretty sub par, though I like the actual designs. After watching Paranoia Agent you really see how low quality this animation is. This is OK, but really without the violence MEZZO loses something, and the stories this time kind of suck.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…p;

This is the continuation of the Paranoia Agent TV series by the incredible director Kon Satoshi. I didn’t think I would see this for a while, but I didn’t even realize I already had it (talk about too many DVD’s :p ). In this first we think we are finding out the exact truth, but it seems by the end everything has unravelled again.

I am loving this series, and can’t wait to see more of it. I highly recommend this, as Kon Satoshi is one of the greatest anime directors of all time.

I
do need to rant a little bit about Geneon who released the first DVD with 4 episodes, and then only have 3 episodes on this disc for the same price. What a rip off. i have written them a letter before, and will probably do so again. This is a policy that is made just to rip off the anime fans that are actually shelling out the money for these releases, and they wonder why so many people share these shows online!

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS… 

I have been a fan of Kon Satoshi since I saw Perfect Blue when it was released in the US, and it really blew me away as something totally different than anything else I had seen. I subsequently loved both MILLENIUM ACTRESS and TOKYO GODFATHERS, and think Kon is set to be the next big thing, up their with Miyakazi, Otomo, and Oshi as one of the all time great anime creators. He really has a different vision, and this television series is certainly different.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS… 

Another masterpiece from Otomo Katsuhiro, this one a steampunk epic, that really defines the term steampunk (Webster’s new Millennium Dictionary defines it as: a genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power; also written steam-punk and in this movie it really is all about steam, and the nuclear power like steam ball that has unlimited steam power. This film is an all out thrill ride, with incredible animation and some of the most amazing animation I have ever seen. Sure the film is a bit heavy handed, with a message of the misuses of technology as overpowered by greed instead of making life better for mankind.

Review contains Spoilers…

Oshii Mamoru’s seminal cyberpunk masterpiece based on the equally seminal Manga of the same name by Shirow Masamune. This was really one of the 3 big ANIME films that got me so addicted to anime, the other 2 being AKIRA and MACROSS THE MOVIE: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE. All 3 masterpieces of cell shaded anime, pushing the limits of what could be done without computers. If you haven’t already seen it you should, and this is the perfect time with the gorgeous special edition (though there aren’t really enough new extras other than the gorgeous transfer and remixed audio). 

I am still enjoying this series, though I still don’t really know what is going on. I am starting to get annoyed by the visual overlays that happen, especially during some of the fighting scenes. The visual snow does get annoying. Though that is nothing compared to GENEON’s practice of screwing it’s customers. I thought it was bad enough to have only 4 episodes on the DVD, but when after 4 DVD’s of 4 episodes they only put 3 on the 5th DVD and release it for the same price, they are just trying to gouge their customers who have been loyally purchasing the series!

In this part we get more of the fall of the city, and finally see the surface, but as to what is going on, I still really can’t say.

It took me a long time to get from the start of this to the middle, but from their I just powered through it all in 2 days. Gonzo really proved it’s meddle with this one. I really enjoyed this anime, and maybe it is just the joy of flying and the really cool vanships that they use to fly, but this was a most impressive anime to me.

There is always some sense of depression when you finish a really good series and it is over for good, the same with finishing a good book, you rush to finish, then are sad that you are done.

Review contains spoilers…

Just got back from watching this opening day at the Arc Light watching GHOST IN A SHELL 2: INNOCENCE . It rocked. Absolutely bad ass. It does make me fiend for APPLESEED though, as some of the 3D still doesn’t match with the 2D Animation, but it certainly has improved. GITS has always been thinking mans ANIME with bad ass visuals, and this one certainly follows that principle, and is as good as the first one with much better animation.

Fantastic. This is the best computer animated film I have seen yet, I enjoyed it more than FINAL FANTASY (yes I loved final fantasy, me and about 3 others). Of course I am also a huge fan of Shirow Masamune. His Intron Depot books are amazing, and I always loved the Appleseed Manga, though wasn’t much of a fan of the original anime, though I do have it on VHS. My only real complaints are that this seems to suffer a bit from the Akira complex. They are trying to fit too much story into too little time, and my second complaint is that it is dubbed. I would much prefer to hear the original Japanese language track with subtitles. Most the voices were all right, though Hitomi’s voice was downright annoying.

This continues Gonzo’s steampunk epic with our hero Claus Valca. Here we start to find out what is going on with this series.

Gonzo has brought it’s merging of computer animation and anime to a knew level with it’s steampunk epic LAST EXILE. The story starts off simple enough with 2 sky couriers, but starts to delve into a much more complicated world of politics and intrigue in a world much different from our own.