Soul Eater

    Soul Eater centers around three groups of students enrolled at "Death Weapon Meister Academy" (DWMA for short). While all three teams include important characters, the team including Maka Albarn and Soul Eater (yes the name is the same as the series'). Each team is made up of the weapon meister (the weapon wielder) and the weapon (a human transformed into a weapon). The DWMA's purpose is to supply Death with weapons to battle "madness", the students must defeat humans whose souls have succumbed to madness to certify their weapons as Death Scythes, weapons which are worthy enough to be used by Death. The story mostly is about defeating the Kishin (the source of madness), and making a few jokes along the way.
    This series sports a rather distinctive style of drawing. In general characters have few distinctive features other than their overall design. What makes the style so distinctive is their noses. The characters' noses are drawn a bit short, and when viewed head on the underside of the nose is shaded (kind of like reality). On top of that the environment has a distinctive style too. The environment is generally draw with beefy outlines. In fact their is a lot of juxtaposition throughout (not just in the drawing, but also in the rolls played by the characters).
    Overall I would say this was slightly above average. The storyline was pretty good, there were some good characters, and the action and comedy were fantastic (in case you haven't figured it out by now I'm an action/comedy fan). The action had good choreography, and the animation in fight sequences was well done (I generally find this point in animation lacking because of the amount of movement involved). The comedy was fabulous, albeit it was pretty dark, it managed to maintain it's comedic value mixed with the seriousness of it. Quite possibly the most interesting thing about it was it's themes. The most obvious perhaps is is extensive use of juxtaposition, which defined just about everything in the series. The one thing I have to say was lacking was the ending. An ending should answer any and all questions, and an ending to wrap up the story with a nice bow. The only reason to deviate from this is if you are alluding to something (like a sequel), but this series didn't do that. Instead it generated even more questions, and gave an ok ending. Overall an OK series, it did very well with it's core themes, but had an ending that didn't live up to expectations.

Most of the major characters

   

Darker Than Black

    Darker than Black  is a science fiction (leaning on the side of fiction) animated tv series about several people who live in a world where the paranormal is commonplace. The first season is mostly set in Tokyo where an anomaly known as Hell's Gate has appeared, and has caused many strange things to happen. Firstly: it has replaced the stars with false ones, and has cause a good deal of destruction to the landscape. Secondly: people with mysterious abilities, and peculiar behaviors have surfaced. These people are known as contractors. Their abilities range from teleportation to fire manipulation, but come at a cost. After their power is used they must complete some act - this can range from dog-earing an entire book to causing themselves physical pain (kind of reminiscent of extreme OCD's). These abilities come at a bigger price though, the contractor loses what we commonly refer to as "humanity". Contractors have qualities of cynicism, and extreme rationalization. These qualities make them extremely effective spies and assassins. There are also dolls: supposedly emotionless "mediums" which mimic the forms of humans. Dolls are mostly used as reconnaissance because of their ability to observe remotely through creatures that appear to be made of energy.
    Now thats out of the way lets talk about the first season. The first season centers around a contractor named Hei who, with a team, carries out jobs for the Syndicate. The first half of the first season mostly is about Hei just doing jobs, and the detective who pursues him. The second half is about the conspiracy to destroy Hell's Gate. The second season centers mostly around Suō, a eurasian girl, and Hei who is more of a secondary character until near the end where the story starts to center more on him again.
    Overall I would say that the animation is pretty average. There is a little attention to detail of the environment, but is generally average. There is an interesting animating of the characters though. Some characters are drawn without pupils. In fact the main character is drawn without them. This is probably like this because of a story-wise reason, rather than an art style reason because of the few choice characters who are drawn this way. I fail to see the importance of it though.
    Overall I would say that this series was pretty good. Even though it didn't have much of a distinct animation style, it still had a good story. They did a good job of making a noir-like storyline in a science fiction setting. I think anyone who likes action, science fiction/fantasy, and a different perspective on what being human is will like this one.

Hei (contractor): Foreground, Yin (doll): left of Hei, Huang (human): far left,

Mao (contractor): cat far right 

Howl's Moving Castle

    It's not very often that I get to blog about animated movies that generally excel in all ideas represented, but today I do get to. Howl's Moving Castle was produced by Hayao Miyazaki, and based off a book by Diana Wynne Jones. It was animated by Studio Ghibli. For those who do not know Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most successful animation directors ever, he is known internationally (which when you think about it is kind of a big deal), Thus I will probably do several other post about his works (so get ready to hear his name a lot).
    The storyline centers around Sophie, an eighteen year old hatter. One day while on her way in town she runs into Howl; a powerful wizard whom rumors created a shroud of mystery over. Later that day The Witch of the Waste (who has quite the nasty reputation) lays a curse on her that transformed her into an old woman. Looking for a cure, she travels into the Wastes and comes across a living scarecrow, whom she later names Turnip Head. She asks him to find her a place to stay, and he hops off. Later he returns with Howl's Castle, a giant fortress that is moved about on giant metal chicken legs. She goes inside and meets the fire demon Calcifer, who apparently is the reason behind the castles ability to move, and Markl Howl's apprentice. After Howl returns she becomes his cleaning lady. And the story goes on from there.
    While the animation done by Studio Ghibli is always superb I found that there were some parts of the animation that really shined through in this production. First off: the wide-shot scenery. This is probably the most beautiful part of the film. The scenes of the scenery are done in a slightly extra paint-like fashion which gives it a very natal feel (versus paying close attention to each individual detail, which generally adds to much human perspective for my taste). Second: the odd little details. In this film I found that the animators seemed to be using a bismuth-like iridescent style to certain objects, particularly metallic.
    I have to say they did a good job on the setting. The setting is this kind of industrial revolution/victorian era that goes together amazingly well. The victorian era style comes into play ion the buildings and somewhat in the clothing. The industrial revolution comes in by the machines. The "cars" look kind of like if an original Ford automobile had a miniature steam engine powering it. Also there are some great flying machines, which I can only describe as "Steampunk Davinci". On top of the great style there are some interesting concepts explored. One of the more notable pieces of the plot is a war that is going on, and wizards are conscripted into it. One of the things one may do with magic in this story is change one's appearance/body. The conscripted wizards are forced to change themselves into beast-like creatures. One of the consequences of this is if used enough; one may not be able to change back to human. This has relevance because coupled with the quote "After the war they won't recall they ever were human" it shows a connection the psychological state required to take part in war. Overall I think anyone could enjoy watching this, but if you particularly like fantasy and dramatic elements with bit of comedy then you should definitely consider watching this one.

The Castle

Howl: tall guy in the middle, Sophie: girl in blue dress, 

Markl: kid in green, Witch of the Waste: old lady on the right,

Heen: dog on the left, Calcifer: blue thing in the upper right corner.

Better picture of Calcifer

Space Dandy

    As implied by the name, Space Dandy is about a Dandy in Space, who coincidentally is named Dandy, or Space Dandy to those he wants to impress (kinda confusingly simple). Dandy is an alien hunter who searches the galaxy for unknown forms of life, and brings them in so he can get paid. He is accompanied by QT: a vacuum cleaner robot who is probably the smartest in the crew, and Meow: a not exactly smart Betelgeusian (his name is not "Meow", it's just that Dandy and QT couldn't understand Merowmreowreow plus he looks cat-like). All episodes are relatively stand-alone so there isn't much of a grand storyline to mention. The only similarity between episodes is that A: Dandy is broke and trying to find an Alien in order to get a paycheck, and B: Dandy breaks the universe (covered later). There are also recurring characters including Dr. Gel: a scientist tasked with pursuing Dandy, Scarlet: an inspector at the space alien registration center who often denies Dandy a paycheck because of trying to fake his way to money, and the narrator (yes the narrator is actually a character).
    The animation of this series was, lets just say interesting. For the most part it was pretty plain, except for having a lot of motion (which improves the quality, but is a pain to animate). However in the first season particularly it used a style (only in moments where movement was critical to the scene) where things moving fast were drawn slightly bland with inconsistent drawing between frames. This gives things a kind of warped look, but is EXTREMELY effective when it comes to portraying motion (and also makes things easier to animate). They also use another style similar to this one, but without the inconsistent drawing. This is mainly used to create a wonderfully fluid movement that is only used on special occasions.
    There are a lot of things I like about this series, for one the comedy is an extremely point-blank, almost slapstick comedy that is hilarious. This series references numerous things including (but not limited to) Planet of the Apes, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and Google Street View. This series is also fond of breaking the fourth wall, which is quite a delight because it not often used. As you watch through, the story line appears to be quite simple, but in the final episode everything becomes complex (as well as explaining a few things). In the finale the universe literally ends, during the end of this episode Dandy is contacted by the narrator, who is revealed to be "god". God then proceeds to ask Dandy if he would take over for him because of a special trait Dandy has: he is an omnipresent being who exists in all hypothetical timelines. This explains a great deal. In some of the preceding episodes Dandy (and his crew) dies. As a viewer I originally thought that the series was just going in the direction of the story just restarting every couple episodes, but that is not the case. Instead each "death" was just one of the "hypothetical timelines" (very confusing I know). Overall I would recommend that anyone who likes straight up humor and an enjoyable, but intricate, storyline should watch this series.

Dandy: Center, QT: Right, Meow: Left

   
   

I Can't Understand What My Husband is Saying

    Have you ever found a series that is just a joy to watch? A series that exceeds immediately, and just keeps getting better? Well the series I am blogging about today is just that.
    I Can't Understand What My Husband is Saying is about a young married couple and the events in their lives. Kaoru (the wife) is an office worker, and is married to Hajime (the husband) who is an otaku/NEET (if you don't know what these terms mean then good for you) who makes a living blogging. This series is short, but extremely sweet, owing to that each episode is about three and a half minutes in length, this length however ties perfectly to how the story goes. Each episode is a single event/period of time (in no particular order I might add) where some part of relationships is involved (e.g., having kids, growing old). While there is no "main" storyline, each episode is extremely effective in delivering its content clearly to the viewer. There are two main sources of comedy: relationship-related, and otaku-husband-related. The relationship-related comedy is pretty standard, but the otaku-husband-related is actually quite unique in that it references numerous medias which it was in direct competition with when it was showing. This type of comedy is sure to evoke some laughs, but is also a risky strategy because you might end up giving the competition some of your viewers (therefore most series avoid this strategy). I would recommend this series for anyone who is in a serious relationship and/or is a giant nerd.

Kaoru: left, Hajime: Right

Blue Exorcist

    Blue Exorcist centers around Rin Okumura who, along with his twin brother Yukio, was raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto, an exorcist. Rin is a regular teenager (e.g. stubborn, thinks the universe revolves around him, etc.) who is prone to agitation, but also has a kind heart. He has lived an unremarkable (and somewhat hard life due to his attitude) until one day he gets a job at a shopping mall were he sees a strange creature running away with a young girls scarf, Rin chases after the creature and eventually saves her from some heavy falling boxes. He is immediately fired. The next day Rin is attacked by the local bully who is possessed by a demon. Shiro rescues him, and in the process of explaining their situation reveals that Rin is the son of Satan (the demon overlord). Once back at the monastery Shiro explains that he sealed Rins demonic powers in a blade to make him human, and if it is ever drawn Rin will become a demon forever. Later night the monastery is beset by demons, Shiro and the others who live there fight them off, but in the end Shiro is possessed by Satan. Shiro sacrifices himself to protect Rin. Rin then does exactly what he was told not to, and draws the blade to destroy the Gehenna Gate (the link between this world and the demon realm). He permanently gains the features of fangs, pointed ears, and a tail as well as the power to ignite himself into blue flames that disintegrate almost anything they touch. After Shiro's funeral he enrolls at a school to train to be an exorcist.
    As far as animation goes it was pretty regular. The only thing that made it really distinct was how well the animation showed movement. All characters move regularly (even when standing), which was very nice to see (because it demonstrated excellent knowledge of each characters bone structure).
    First off I just want to say that the story line is nothing to sneeze at. It was easy to get immersed in the story, which in my opinion shows that it is interesting and good. Next, it was very interesting how the author (because this was based off a manga) got different religious beliefs to combine into the world of this animation. There are references to Christianity, Shinto, Judaism, Buddhism, and probably couple others I didn't catch. The author presents a world where all religions are present, so they generally didn't stick to one belief system, instead they made up their own system that referenced others. In any case it was fun to see different belief systems molded together (and to actually have it pulled off while still representing each well is really impressive to me). The other thing I found to be quite nice was the character relationships. The relationship between characters was constantly changing (often large groups, and not just few people. It was this quality that really worked in favor of the comedy (yeah this is a comedy, and a funny one at that!), since the characters had such a great chemistry it allowed the jokes to be just that more funny (because a joke specific to a person is a lot funnier if you know specifically why it's funny, not just generally why). In conclusion I would recommend that anyone who likes comedy and fusion religion cuisine watch this show. It is very well done, and interesting to say the least.

Rin Okumura: Guy in the front looking slightly embarrassed, Yukio: Guy in middle looking slightly concerned, Everyone else: Important side characters.

Angel Beats!

Recently my english teacher has been going on an "afterlife" teaching binge, so I decided to do a blog that features a show about an afterlife.

    Angel Beats centers around a boy named Otonashi who wakes up on the ground on a school campus. He immediately encounters a girl with a sniper rifle train on a girl in the distance, who asks him if he wants to join herself and the other members of Not Yet Dead Battlefront (apparently the name has been in controversy for some time) in fighting to survive in the afterlife. Overwhelmed, he promptly dismisses her as crazy, and decides to ask the person she was targeting. That person turns out to the the student body president. Happy he is speaking to someone who should have some sense, he makes a comment about wanting to go to a hospital. The girl then relies that there are no hospitals because everyone is dead. Now very irritated about everything not making sense Otonashi asks the girl to prove it. At this request she stabs him in the chest with a sword. He then wakes up some time later unscathed (although his clothes have a rather sizable amount of blood on them), and is recruited into Underworld Battlefront (apparently the name has already changed since the last time). He hesitantly mades this decision after he is exposed to the idea of Obliteration, the equivalent of death in this world (although since everyone is already dead, it is thought of to likely be reincarnation).
    Overall the animation was actually pretty good, particularly the details. The animation was extremely polished overall, including the intentional blemishes (this makes for great eye-candy, but lacks the organic feel of just making a chaotic design). I have to say the lighting was very well done. The shadows in the environment particularly were good, but the shadows on the characters were a bit geometric.
    The action wasn't to bad, but it could have had a little more (just to make it a little more consistent). The comedy was generally about the characters themselves, but there is a good amount of afterlife jokes  as well. The comedy and action were good, but one of the best parts in my opinion is the afterlife they created. The fact that you can seemingly temporarily die in this world is an interesting twist (because the usual theme is that you are more or less immortal once you die). The world itself is rather limbo-like in that it isn't  hellish or heavenly. Interestingly enough some parts of it resemble a computer. Not only are there terms used that apply to computers, but at one point the world itself appears to be malfunctioning and generating errors. I think this series is perfect for anyone who enjoy comedy, drama, and different views on the afterlife.

Right: Otonashi, Left: Angel (girl who stabbed him)

Psycho-Pass

Psych-Pass is a Japanese animated series taking place in the dystopian future of 2113. In this future technology has evolved enough to "accurately" determine whether or not someone is likely to commit a crime (based off of mental states, personality, stress levels, etc.), this is called a Psycho-Pass. The "perfect "system running the calculations is called Sibyl. When someones Psycho-Pass level exceeds a certain level they are then targeted for enforcement to prevent the (likely) crime they are going to commit. The people who do the enforcing are called Inspectors and are accompanied by Enforcers, who are Latent Criminals (people with an "unhealthy" Psycho-Pass). These investigators and enforcers wield Dominators, weapons that read the targets Crime Coefficient (part of psycho-pass predicting likelihood of committing a crime) and determines what action to take: stun, kill, or demolish (for non-living threats).
    The story centers around Akane Tsumenori, a new inspector in Unit 1. The first season focuses the apprehension of Shogo Makishima, a criminal who has masterminded multiple crimes. Shogo is Criminally Asyptomatic (a fancy term for "having a certain psychology that Sibyl cannot read), giving him the ability to commit crimes while being deemed "safe" by Sibyl, therefore the dominators will not work on him.
    The second season focuses on the apprehension of Kirito Kamui, a man who is completely resistant to Sibyl's judgement due to a defect in the system, making him rather hard to find. His goal is to force Sibyl to recognize him, but this would cause complications for the system.
    I found the animation to be rather good. Through research however I found that apparently there were several episodes with flawed drawing, I unfortunately didn't watch this version so I can't give my opinion on this. The settings were designed before the characters, so the environments are beautifully done.
    A large part of the content in the series was psychological, not only in concepts, but also in visual content. After watching for to long I found that I would get depressed (to a certain extent) because of all the psychological brutality. The series has a lot of good psychological content yes, but where is accels is the impact it has on the audience. What I though the animators did a great job in was creating truly gruesome scenes of violence, because unfortunately in this day violence is generally glossed over or romanticized (something I personally think is kind of stupid). This show was a breath of fresh air in that it did a great job of showing true violence and the psychology that goes along with it.

Warning!: I recommend anyone who watches this should do so with moderation. It will affect you adversely if you watch to much at one time.

Akane (investigaor): Right, Shinya Kogami (enforcer): Left

Dominator modes from top to bottom: 

Stun/Inactive, "Lethal Eliminator" (Kill), "Destroy Decomposer" (for nonliving targets)

"Bad" Anime

Recently I have been reawakened to the fact that some people consider anime as "bad". I thought I would bring this up because this blog will prominently feature anime, as well as some other foreign stuff. Interestingly enough I used to think of anime this way, it is only recently I have changed my stance on it. Now a definition on "bad": "bad" is quite basically anything a single person doesn't like, there are of course things that whole cultures consider bad (murder, thievery, etc), but when it comes down to it there are just some things people don't like. Something else you must know is that anime is really just like every other media, the only difference is the style. Now that we have all the technical stuff out of the way I can continue to the juicy stuff.
    The most common reason I have found people dislike anime is that the content that they have been exposed to really is (for a lack of a better word) shitty. This is usually due to them having seen one of the gigantic series (Naruto, Yu-Gi-Oh, etc). Now let me tell you something: most people who watch anime also strongly dislike those shows, this is because they are long, drawn-out, and ultimately don't have much meaning. I used to have a mentality similar to this, but then I came to a realisation: as it turned out I had been watching anime since I was 5-ish. I just didn't put the two into the same category because one was distinctly better than the other.
    I try to put top quality animation on this blog, but if I only did that it would get boring, so today I am going to review an anime that I consider bad. The name of the series I chose to review is Diabolik Lovers (you can probably tell from the title that its going to be bad). This series fulfills all stereotypes one can make about it. It is about a girl who gets her blood sucked by vampires, the end. The only other thing I can say is that there was no storyline for the first three fourths, and then at the end there was a weak storyline that honestly didn't really accomplish anything. I chose this one as an example not only because it is just terrible in general, but also because of the use of vampires (something that most people can acknowledge is usually bad).
  The message I have been trying to get across is this: if something is bad it's bad, but don't judge other things of similar likeness because of your experience beforehand.

And now some anime memes for your enjoyment.

   
   

C

    Also known as C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control, this animation is about money. Kind of boring sounding right? Not really. Money is a very simple thing, yet it is very complex. Money is the stand in for something of real worth. It by itself it is useless, but because it is a substitute for gold it has enormous value (or at least we think it does). C takes advantage of this concept by presenting a world where things of no (or possibly great) value have enormous affects on the world.
    The story centers around Kimimaro Yoga. Kimimaro was raised by his aunt after his father disappeared, and his mother died. He is a college student who wants to have enough money to live a stable, normal life. One night a representative from The Bank of Midas named Masakaki comes offering a deal that could possibly increase his earning several times. All he has to do is let his future be held a collateral (something of great value (like gold?) for something of little value(money)). A short while later he is drawn into The Financial District where he must compete for his money, and therefore his future, in competitions called Deals. He meets many people in the financial district, and slowly realizes how much of an effect on the world money (futures in this case) has.
    Overall the animation is in what I like to call the "regular" anime style (not completely flat-faced, but the characters have distinguishing features. This series takes the concept of money to a completely different level. It uses the same basic principles of money, but uses it on something we cannot comprehend the value of. It is insightful (for someone who know little) about the way money works, and all the complicated matters that determine its worth. There is also a bit off clashing philosophies during the story. One involves that if the future is lost then the present has no meaning (losing a deal). The other one is basically that you have to work for your future. Both could be valid (but as many things are), no-one is always correct.
   This animation is juicy with mind-bending concepts and theories. The concepts used in it are well explained and shown. All content in it requires significant amount of thought to understand. This animation is for anyone who enjoys (or can process) complex ideas, and issues of right and wrong.

Masakaki: Left, Kimimaro: Right

Financial District

Ben-To

Bento: noun, a japanese style packed lunch.
    Ben-To is a Japanese anime about food fights, and I am not talking about throwing food. What I am talking about is: all-out brawls over food. The story starts when one night Yo Sato gets immediately beaten to a pulp while reaching for a half priced bento. Apparently the blow he received to the head numbed his memory because the next day he runs into Hana Oshiroi, unfortunately he doesn't get much information out of her because she is preoccupied with fantasies she uses for her "hobby" (if you're smart you won't research this too deeply). When he arrives for his first day of school he sees a girl who warns him to not go to the supermarket again. He of course goes and gets beaten up again and blacks out, but regains his memories of the previous night. When he wakes up an employee tells Yo that on a nightly basis people fight over the half priced bento. That night he goes back again, and actually puts up  a decent fight before everyone is annihilated by the the girl he met earlier. She is now revealed to be "the Ice Witch", who is strong and infamous for her fighting skill. After the fight she offers to train Yo, so he can get the half-priced prize.
    Overall I liked this series because of it's action and comedy. As for action: it was well paced, and was well choreographed. As for comedy: there was of course the running gag that they were all fighting over food, and that Hana's hobby was let's just say a little strange. The ending also tackled the issue of inequality amongst the brawlers, this is when an incredibly skilled team shows up and completely decimates everyone. A nemesis of theirs comes to stop them by attempting to reach an agreement where the team gets to take any bento they want, but may not participate in the fight. Thus denying them of the challenge they desire. Yo then shows up, and brings everyone to their senses and starts the brawl (the exact opposite of what the nemesis wants). This is by far one of the sillier series I have watched, and it is by far the most satisfying for it's humor and action.

Yo: Left, Hana: Right, Bento: Bottom

Real Bento (You can get hungry just looking at this)

   

When Marnie Was There

    Of all the things I could have blogged about today, I am happy that I decided to blog about this movie. When Marnie Was There is a Japanese animated film produced by Studio Ghibli, and based on the novel When Marnie Was There written by Joan G. Robinson. As per usual of a film produced by Studio Ghibli, the animation is amazing. The animation is the style used in every Ghibli movie (relatively simple yet expressive character design, and extremely detailed background). I could babble on forever about how much I love the animation, but then I would never get to the truly amazing part - the story.
    The story centers around Anna Sasaki, and what happens to her one summer. One day Anna suffers an asthma attack at school, so her foster parents decide to send her to their relatives in Kushiro, a rural, seaside town where there is clean air. Anna see's an old mansion that is overgrown, and strangely familiar. She goes to investigate, and gets trapped by the rising tide. Thankfully she is rescued by an old fisherman. On the way back to the opposite shore she glimpses the mansion as new and well-lit. Later that day, her relatives tell her it used to be a vacation home for some foreigners, but they have long been gone. That night, and other nights, she has dreams about a mysterious blonde girl in the window of the mansion. Later after a festival at which she was rude to a girl, Anna finds a rowboat and rows to the mansion, where she meets Marnie, the blonde girl in the window. I should probably tell you that up until this point Anna has been unhappy and a bit antisocial, however as she and Marnie become friends she begins to become happy - much like Marnie when they first meet. As time goes on it is revealed that Marnie is just a figment of Anna's imagination, until she meets Sayaka, who is moving into the mansion. Sayaka originally identifies Anna as Marnie because of a diary found in the house that belonged to a girl named Marnie. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it already, so I'll just say that Anna eventually becomes happy and social, and even learns a bit of her family history.
    I really have to applaud Ghibli for making a movie of this caliber. This movie was wonderful in the way it illustrated how friendship can make such a difference in one's life. The way in which the story was laid out and executed was perfect. The voice acting was also very good. I am usually unfazed by stories which try to convey complex feelings, but they did such a great job that they even got through to me. Overall I think that they did a great job on this movie. It told a great story in a perfect way, and got it's point across perfectly clear.

From left to right: Anna, Marnie