anime review – reposted

All reviews written when the blog is still at Windows Live Spaces. Usually shorter and inferior in quality. Not used anymore.

Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion (新世紀エヴァンゲリオン)

Posted by ranpha on 18th December 2007
Posted in: anime review - reposted, perfect score, rewatched anime reviews. Tagged: , . 1 comment


Huzzah for English in Japanese animation! It is not perfect, but a considerable improvement.

I watched this one way before this blog is started from original R1 DVDs, a long time ago. As I rummaged through my DVD collection, I managed to find this one and out of nostalgia, I rewatched it again. A series that is considered legendary by many fans, this Neon Genesis Evangelion anime is just as good as they have said.


The poster boy for everything emo in Japanese animation.

Story:-
A teenage kid was forced to become a child soldier pilot for a robot by his own father to fight some monsters called ‘Angels’. Things become difficult when it becomes clear that the boy has some ‘problems’ and his colleague-pilots don’t seem to be sane either. Can a trio of problematic robot pilots save the world from devastation?

Those people who say that this anime is legendary are not kidding; this anime has a very good story. The series is really enjoyable and I can’t stop watching the anime whenever I have the time, just like Rozen Maiden did. The story flows freely and has decent character development that allows multiple characters to be strong or interesting enough to also support such a good story.

My only complaint will be the unorthodox ending, which consists of 2 episodes of counselling sessions for the main protagonist instead of a big huge battle against the big boss. The anime ended up with the main character becoming a little bit less emo, and that’s it. It could use some more oomph, that’s for sure.

And lastly I should note that none of the emo characters is as annoying like the main lead in La Corda anime. That’s a very good thing.


Very innovative design for an enemy combatant.

Character Design:-
Being another anime from the last century, the character design is surprisingly very well done. Like Kiba The TV Animation, the hero is sloppily designed but it meets the storyline perfectly (he has black hair too). The other 2 pilots also stand out especially the blue-haired one. All of the other main characters are not bad either.

Mecha designs are excellent too but for some questionable design for some of the Angels. Anyway, it is definitely a plus point of the series.


The scene of a homicide case.

Voice acting:-
Unlike the character design, voice acting here can only be described as generally good. This is to say, there are no screw-ups but no one outstanding either.


Another perfectly good green hill destroyed in the fight between good and evil.

Music:-
The OST is average, the OP if forgettable but Fly Me to the Moon is a very good song.


One of the downsides of being an emo kid.

Animation/Direction:-
For its time, the animation is decent, and choreography and fast-paced scenes is not affected. The directing is superb, a far cry from Armitage III, and probably what makes the series good in the first place.


I have learned from this anime that penguins does not match well with spicy food.

Conclusion:-
I hereby award 10 out of 10 for this anime. Unlike Wolf’s Rain of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, this anime really fulfils my expectations. But if this anime were to compete with Nodame Cantabile for Anime Of The Year 2007, it will fail.


A robot stalking another. Only happens in the crazy world of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Review: Armitage III (アミテージ・ザ・サー) + Dual Matrix (アミテージ・ザ・サード DUAL-MATRIX)

Posted by ranpha on 16th December 2007
Posted in: anime movies, anime review - reposted. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment


Just like Planetes and Legend of Galactic Heroes, English died in the making of this anime.

After a review of a 2006 anime, I return back to the last century to watch an anime that has been stored in my portable HDD for months. Armitage III OVA plus the Dual Matrix movie takes only a day to watch, and here is the mini-review.

Story:-
Set up in the future like Planetes did, a detective from Earth who has just been transferred to Mars is paired with a spunky Martian female detective as they investigate a series of killings involving robots that is classified as ‘The Third’ (no relationship with the previous anime I reviewed of course).

Actually the story is very well done. I can even call it very good. VERY GOOD! (emphasis mine). But the OVA is ruined by one of the worst directing I have ever seen in an anime series. I watched plenty of anime throughout my life and seen various bad directing but this one really takes the cake.

This is supposed to be written in the Animation/Direction section but I want to put it here because the directing really ruins a potentially good story this anime has. The directing failed at many things such as scene continuation, illogical character animations (not frame rates problem), flows of dialogue and the storyline, messed up pacing and many more. I have to pause the anime many times because those patently obvious directing flaws really make me angry.

The Dual Matrix movie has different directors (and made 7 years after the OVA) thus those flaws that present in the OVA largely disappeared. Sadly, the story in the movie is not as good as the one in the OVA.

Character Design:-
The quality of the character design here is mixed; the Martian female detective is beautifully designed while other characters are just average. This anime is a classic example where one character is way too different from other characters in terms of character design, and more often than not, could be a bad thing.

 
Why is that the English language will always suffer in sci-fi space anime? Is this the sign to come? That if humans managed to acquire interplanetary travel capabilities, people will stop speaking English and speaks Japanese instead?

Voice acting:-
Voice acting in this anime is average, at least for the OVA. I suspect some of the blame can be laid at the door of the director because it improved somewhat in the movie.

Music:-
Probably the only positive aspect of the anime. The OST is good but none of the themes are. The insert song at the start of the OVA is actually what makes me wanting to watch the anime in the first place.

Animation/Direction:-
The animation is just average in the OVA and improves considerably in the movie. Fast-paced scenes are not affected though. The choreography for action scenes is good, but some decision on character animations ruined it at some parts of the OVA.

About the directing, read above for a piece of my mind.

Conclusion:-
7 out of 10. Would have got at least 9 if the movie directors also directed the OVA.

 
At first I thought it was ‘This is Ged’ but very surprisingly, Japan managed to spell ‘God’ correctly.

Review: The Third – Aoi Hitomi no Shoujo (ザ・サード ～蒼い瞳の少女～)

Posted by ranpha on 15th December 2007
Posted in: anime review - reposted. Tagged: . Leave a Comment


Bad people in Japan thinks that giving guns to emo little girls is a good thing.

So with no review of a 2007 anime for quite some time yet, how about if I bring you a challenger for my Anime Of The Year 2006 Kiba The TV Animation? The challenger will be The Third, the story about a freaky girl with 3 eyes, presented from the company that brings you Heroic Age.

Story:-
Just like I have mentioned above, the anime is all about a freaky girl with 3 eyes who knows how to wield a katana, doing her own thing just like the hero in Eatman anime did. In fact, this anime is more similar to Eatman than Kino no Tabi did. Unfortunately, the story stinks, the heroine is lamer and the ending is… meh.

The think I do not like the most about the story is how the story is divided into several seemingly independent arcs just to then use the last couple of episodes to tied them up to form a messy ending. I have watched several other anime who tried to do things like this but none has really succeeded. And the story is actually about her saving the world, which I only get to know at the last episode.

The heroine sometimes get to my nerves, and it is safe to say that she is a milder version of the protagonist in the La Corda D’Oro ~ Primo Passo`. With her character and the story that is average at best, I think even Eatman 98 is better than this flick.

Character Design:-
Just like the story, character design here is average and ordinary. The heroine has black hair though, just for you to note. Meanwhile, mecha(nical) designs are done very well.

Voice acting:-
The positive aspect of the anime, voice acting in this anime is generally very well done. No standouts, it is just that everyone that matter does his/her job flawlessly. For comparison, Rozen Maiden has better voice acting.

Music:-
Only the first ED theme is good. OST and the other themes are not worth mentioning.

Animation/Direction:-
Another positive aspect of the anime, the animation is fluid even in fast scenes. Choreography of the action scenes is mixed; the sword fight is crap but gun and mecha battles are very well done. The directing is bad mainly for the presentation of the story detailed above.

Conclusion:-
6 out of 10 just like Eatman 98 and Kino no Tabi. Hey, Kiba The TV Animation only has 9 points. I wonder if any 2006 anime can take the title from Kiba.

 
One of the better action scenes in the anime.

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