Here's another outdated review. :)
I watched this 2006 Anime about three years ago, so I had to watch it again just to make a review.
While it's not the best Anime in my opinion, it does present some unforgettable scenes, concept, and especially, characters.
This won't be a long review so please read more after the jump.
What if you were given one wish and with this single wish anything you desire can come true?
Would you wish for countless riches? A beautiful wife? Perhaps a car, a house, or nice job?
Or would you use this opportunity to make someone else happy?
(Photo credits: Wikipedia)
If I would have to beg you to read at least one article in its entirety, it’s this one. So, please,
I’ve decided to review at least two ongoing Anime per season. With Hana-Saku Iroha just recently releasing its 14th and 15th episode complete with a new but still loveable opening sequence, I’ve decided to start with a new one.
Since Hana-Saku Iroha was a little too… pure… I’ve also decided to go a little ecchi this time – Mayo Chiki!
Needless to say, I haven’t laughed this hard and this often after watching just two episodes.
Mayo Chiki is both HOT (as an ecchi, 9/10) and funny (as a comedy, 10/10)!
Read on!
(Photo Credits: AniDB)
The title is translated to “Five Centimeters per Second” in its English release.
Spoiler Alert: While spoilers are carefully avoided, some facts need to be revealed to make a point. Please read at your own risk.
(photo credits: Wikipedia)
Warning: This Anime may make you cry. Hard.
Here’s an idea: instead of reviewing completed Anime, why not make a dynamic/changing review of an ongoing Anime so everyone can join in the excitement of awaiting a new episode every week?
And to start of with this pseudo pilot post (PPP?), I’d like to start with an Anime that showed great promise right from the first episode – Hana-Saku Iroha.
Honestly, what drew me to this Anime at first was the fact that part of the show’s cast included two of my favorite seiyuus – Aki Toyosaki and Chiaki Omigawa. But what was revealed to me was not only a display of great voice acting, Hana-Saku Iroha is also nerve wracking, touching, heart warming, and best of all, full of lessons to be learned about respect and valuing others.
Read on!
(photo credits: http://anidb.net/)
Warning: The plot of this Anime may not be suitable to minors.
B Gata H Kei is a TV anime series based on a seinen manga by Sanri Youko. Because it is a seinen, the expected fans are young male adults, usually of age 18-30. However, B Gata H Kei is also classified as an Ecchi, so under-18 viewers are really discouraged.
To learn more about anime classifications (Ecchi, Seinen, etc), click here.
B Gata H Kei is also a comedy. In fact, it’s probably one of the funniest Anime I’ve seen in recent times.
As always, while spoilers are avoided, some information about the plot may necessarily be included in this review. However, it is always our goal to make readers want to watch whatever we’re reviewing, as opposed to just spoiling the fun.
More after the break.
Please note that this is not a summary, rather, a commentary on an anime movie – reading this and watching the film are two completely different experiences.
Spoilers (and in fact, storytelling) are definitely avoided, but some details may still be disclosed. Please continue at your own risk.
Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone is the latest, Blu-Ray and DVD version of the movie initially entitled “Evangelion 1.00 You Are (Not) Alone”.
In a nutshell, this movie is a re-imagining of the first half of the popular anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The second part is featured in the next movie, Evangelion 2.22.
The movie starts the same way as the anime series, but immediately, the much-improved graphics and fight-sequences are noticeable. For the familiar readers, the original anime series was popular because of two things: its weird and philosophical storyline, and its cool graphics. The decade-later movie was also ten times better in terms of graphics.
Unit 00’s color has also been improved, from the bright orange to the new, yellowish orange, that even matches Rei’s jumpsuit.
In the movie, the sequence was shown for a good couple of minutes, and it was absolutely awesome! The buildings slide down seamlessly as the defensive turrets rise up. While some platforms or buildings can be forced down by releasing the holding clamps, most are slowly and safely lowered at a rate that would be, I would imagine, not nauseating.
The nostalgic movie ranges from the day Shinji Ikari was called by NERV, until the first battle he and Rei Ayanami participated in as a team. Unfortunately for Asuka fans, she won’t appear until the next movie.
Overall, the movie was edited superbly. The cuts implemented were just enough to tell the whole story, but not too few as to make the movie dragging. One of my favorite scenes was when Shinji and Rei were given their instructions: Shinji will be the sniper and Rei will be on defense. While dressing, Shinji notes, “You know, we might die this time.” Rei’s answer, done right as she was tightening her jumpsuit, was one of the coolest anime movie moments I’ve seen in a long time:
“No.
You won’t die.
I will protect you.”
And then she leaves the room, without letting Shinji react.
Of course, another “improvement” comes with the fact that this is a movie, with its 
Finally, I’ll leave you with a treat. Because of the additional freedom, scenes such as Rei putting on her jumpsuit become possible. It’s probably not good enough to be GP, especially here in the Philippines, so I took the liberty of censoring some parts of the following snapshot. The actual film has absolutely no pixelated scenes.
You can purchase this movie from the following Amazon.com links:
All photos are snapshots taken from the movie and are considered fair use, because it does not reduce the willingness of potential customers to purchase the movie, and may event urge them to do so.
One cool December, a boy learned to love.
And I’m not even talking about any anime series yet.
I was with my brothers (I have four, all younger than me) one Christmas eve when they told me about this anime series entitled Kanon. Apparently, they all fell in love with its rollercoaster storyline, despite it being a romance anime and them being young men, and they urged me to watch it as soon as possible. It didn’t disappoint.
Kanon was, at that time, one of the best anime series I have seen in a long time. It was the first (and so far only) anime to have me so much involved at what was happening, that when the story turned sad, I felt sad, and when the main character was happy, I, too, was ecstatic.
Okay, maybe it got me teary-eyed on more than a few occasions. Alright, alright, I might have cried, too. But all 24 episodes of Kanon are all worth it, and soon after watching the entire series, I found myself watching everything all over again.
Kanon has two versions, one released in 2002, and another in 2006. I personally have only watched the 2006 version, since according to my brother, it was the better of the two. Afterwards, I did a little bit of research on the differences of the two versions, and indeed, the 2006 Kanon is what I would recommend myself. This is because apparently, the 2006 version is less straightforward and spoonfeeding as the 2002 version, it leaves you with missing gaps of information to keep you thinking, but in the end answers all your questins.
In fact, let me give you a bit of a teaser. The following is the first of many monologues of one of the main characters, Ayu, right after the opening theme song of the very first episode:
“A dream… I’m seeing a dream. The same dream I see every day. The endless dream. The red snow. The world stained in red. The small, crying child was blocking the red sky. I wanted to wipe away his tears, at least. But the hands wouldn’t move, and the tears trailing down the cheeks soaked into the snow, and…. all I could do was watch. It was so painful… and so sad.”
Watching for the first time, these words would mean nothing. But right after watching episode 24, go back to this scene and you will understand what I mean when I say that Kanon’s storyline is simply… elegant.
Nayuki tries to remind Yuuichi of what he should be remembering, but to no avail. During the course of the series, Yuuichi meets four other girls: Ayu Tsukimiya, Makoto Sawatari, Shiori Misaka, and Mai Kawasumi, who all have had important relationships with Yuuichi in the past.
As the plot progresses, the bits and pieces are put together and the entire events of “seven years ago” is revealed in what I still believe is the best climax and best anime series finale I have ever seen.
While Kanon is based on an adult game by the company Key, the anime version sticks to a general patronage audience, making the series purely romantic with a lot of mysteries and twists.
I won’t say anything more about the storyline as it might ruin your viewing experience. I recommend that you don’t read summaries because they will take away the surprises (and there are a LOT). Watch it, and watch it again. Enjoy!
Seiyuus in this Anime that you might know:
Ratings:
You can buy Kanon DVDs at Amazon via the following packages:
Credits:
