Not done yet, even though it's late. About a dozen more, then movies and I can rest. I also want to say that if you're ever interested in anime artbooks, like production materials or something likethis for Last Exile, look on Exhentai/sad panda. Yes, yes I know it's porn and all but if you trawl $Artbook for something like this. Yeah it's in Japanese but it's the art you want, the character designs even if you can't understand the words.
Dennou Coil is an interesting little anime. Imagine instead of smartphones, google glasses became the main communication device and the world and the internet are very close to each other. In a small town in the country, the internet leaks glitches that the local cable company hasn't fixed. A small group of kids use chalk to draw runic patterns that allow them to interface with the glitches and bend the digital world to their will. This usually results in fights but it's all in good fun. The plot starts out innocent enough and the characters don't realize the danger they're in but things to ramp up and it stays consistent throughout. A good solid anime about kid characters, couldn't ask for me.
Aria is a series that just doesn't seem to disappear but honestly, I don't mind. Having a few seasons and the occasional OVA. There's a new OVA coming out soon that I'm eager to see. Originally started as a Manga, when it was adapted for the first anime, the creator actually kept the manga going, incorporating the ending of that into the anime. The basic story is about 300 years in the future Mars has been terraformed into a habital planet and is mostly known as Aqua now for it's many blue seas. The story takes place in Neo-Venezia, a 1 for 1 copy of Venice back on earth. it follows the daily goings on of Akari, an Undine or Gondoleer for the Aria Company. It's a seriously mellow slice of life that makes you just want to relax. All the characters are great, even Athena who's both Seiyuu's, her normal voice and singing voice have both died, so in Avenniere they have her singing. Ah, the music. It's all classic Italian mediterranean songs and you can just imagine yourself by the sea. Grab Aria "The Box" if you want the complete soundtracks from the 3 mainline series. As for watching order, go by release date. But yes, it's good. Really good.
If I end up in Neo-Venezia in my afterlife, I'll consider it a good place.
I could just leave that video up there as my entire thoughts on this but here we go. It's a good series, bloody good dub as well, considering this was 06 when it was originally recorded and It's a Canadian production instead of the usual Funi I think which makes it even better. God I love Balalaika's voice. But anyway, there's two seasons and Roberta's Blood Trail, 5 ep OVA that's worth watching as well, the author took a few years in Hiatus but has returned as of a few months ago, so there's that. Yes watch it, good violence and story married perfectly.
So after Watanabe made Bebop, how do you follow up the Jazz and space combo? You go Rap and Samurai. And surprisingly, it works. If you've ever seen Boondocks the "Blind Nigga Samurai" part was directly inspired by this show. Describing individual episodes really isn't this show's strength as they sort of flow into one another, rather it's the journey through them that matters. So give it a watch, worthwhile. Dub is decent as well.
I love this Dub. The plot of Ghost Stories is quite generic, girl lets loose an evil spirit that takes the form of a cat, mother wrote a book of the things that were summoned and she and her friends have to try and seal them back up. What separates this from a boring 5/10 to a hilarious 8/10 is the English Dub. There's another version of the English dub that's proper, but the comedic one contains alot of 2001 references, even stuff like Bruce Jenner, bombing abortions clinics and inappropriate humor like that. It's refreshing in the PC era we live in. This dub also got official approval from the company, even if they didn't understand it. It's also about 5-8 years before abridged series became a thing so it's a trendsetter. Watch it, it's just funny as it is uncouth.
Right, Two different adaptations and I'd get flak if I didn't include the 1980s one. This is a series dating back to 85 and the basic plot of both is that Shin Kazuma, the guy with hair covering one part of his face, a former commercial airline pilot is tricked into signing a 3 year combat deal with a mercenary company. He gets transferred to the battlezone and basically Ace Combats it up in-order to A, pay off the 1.5 million cancel clause on the contract or try and get a plane that run from the base, but good luck considering that it's 1000km to anywhere that isn't desert. 1985 one was heavily inspired by Top Gun at the time and the 2004 one was probably more Ace Combat. It's a decent watch over all, the electronica from the 2004 one for example is something to hunt down and I'm surprised that the idea of needing to pay off a merc contract hasn't been made into a flight sim yet, considering how well AC and Project Wingman are doing these days.
So this is the most recent adaptation of Astro apart from that god awful movie years back. What makes this one a little different is the Dub essentially turns it into a Saturday Morning cartoon, They even changed the intro so it'd fit in more. Why watch it? Astro is a bot built by Dr.Tenma, who's always urging Tobia to "Evolve", to become stronger so he goes up against people like Atlas, Pluto and the Blue Knight but through it all he's always trying to get robots and humans to work together. It's a strong pacifism angle in that Astro only attacks in self-defense and his sense of wanting people to get along tries to sway them. Like I said, Saturday Morning Cartoon. And that's okay by me, I still enjoy it despite how it's aged and how grating Astro's voice can get sometimes. Characters like Tenma make up for it though.
Another forgotten classic. enter text Haibane started out as some Doujins Abe Yoshitoshi was drawing around 98. He was approached by an animation company that loved his work and over a year or two he got down the basic plot settings and characters. The basic plot is that Angel like beings are born into a town with human inhabitants, with a giant wall surrounding it and that's literally it. You can guess the metaphor at play here because this is the same creator as Lain but what's interesting about this is you follow a "Life-cycle" of a Haibane. They end up here, work in the town, stay in the Old House then get a calling to fly over the wall. Give it a watch, it's a very calming slice of life that makes you think as well.
Cromartie relies on the absurd but that's what makes it so good, have a Gorilla because why not, everyone looks like they're from Yakuza because why not, introduce Freddie Mercury and have him ride a horse because why not. You could have this run in the background and just listen to it and you'd still get most of the episode. The dub is pretty good as well, it's just an entertaining series with the average episode at about 15 minutes.
So take Batman, take his suit but give him a mech, a robot AI maid that lives with him not like that and Alfred loses an eye and you have Big O. Originally ordered by Toonami I think to show on Saturday morning, the first season was popular enough to spawn a second one but Toonami went bust around then I think so the ending got horribly rushed. Still it's a decent mech anime even if you're only watching it for Dorothy.
This one will hit close to home for a few people, as the perpetually tired protag can draw a few similarities with what's happening today. None the less it's a slightly edgy urban drama that has characters doing the odd criminal job in a city where it never stops raining. There's this heavy sense of dread over everything and everyone is trying to find their own happiness in this place, even if it gets washed away by the rain. Episodes are generally 2 parts to a single story which makes 26 episodes a good end point. There is a second series but that one's a mixed bag so it's up to you if you want to see it. They trade Tokyo for Siberia.
Yakuza bosses read Visual Novels
So My Bride is a Mermaid could be just your average Harem anime but it isn't simply because said mermaid belongs to Yakuza, especially the boss and his subordinates that want Nagasumi dead for getting close to Sun. I'll say the one thing that separates this series over others is the slap stick and jokes, it's basically a romantic comedy with more comedy than most. Subbed or dubbed is good, they all put in good performances. The anime only covers the first few volumes actually, there's like 8 to 9 in this series if you like it enough.
Don't have much to say on this one unfortunately, I know it looks kind of generic but there was a reason I rated it highly and I can't remember it, which is a shame. I do promise there are dragons later in it though. That much I do remember.
Okay, not many words left, adding 3 here Noir ED
Assassin duo operating in France, Mireille is actually from Sardinia. Starts out as simple jobs but there's a deeper meaning to the name they use. Slow story but worth it.
Noir American Roadtrip version. Ellis is the one with powers this time and Nadie has to escort her north across the Rio Grande while they evade the person who's chasing them. Pretty good.
Basically just Cannan hunting down a biological terrorist except she's got Wired Reflexes from Shadowrun so she can dodge past bullets. Is a decent small series.
It's a horror romanceabout a Shota haunted by a black haired beauty that kinda wants to be his gf but also wants to move on. Is more romance than most but still has horror.
Two more next post then movies.
Not done yet, even though it's late. About a dozen more, then movies and I can rest. I also want to say that if you're ever interested in anime artbooks, like production materials or something likethis for Last Exile, look on Exhentai/sad panda. Yes, yes I know it's porn and all but if you trawl $Artbook for something like this. Yeah it's in Japanese but it's the art you want, the character designs even if you can't understand the words.
Dennou Coil is an interesting little anime. Imagine instead of smartphones, google glasses became the main communication device and the world and the internet are very close to each other. In a small town in the country, the internet leaks glitches that the local cable company hasn't fixed. A small group of kids use chalk to draw runic patterns that allow them to interface with the glitches and bend the digital world to their will. This usually results in fights but it's all in good fun. The plot starts out innocent enough and the characters don't realize the danger they're in but things to ramp up and it stays consistent throughout. A good solid anime about kid characters, couldn't ask for me.
Aria is a series that just doesn't seem to disappear but honestly, I don't mind. Having a few seasons and the occasional OVA. There's a new OVA coming out soon that I'm eager to see. Originally started as a Manga, when it was adapted for the first anime, the creator actually kept the manga going, incorporating the ending of that into the anime. The basic story is about 300 years in the future Mars has been terraformed into a habital planet and is mostly known as Aqua now for it's many blue seas. The story takes place in Neo-Venezia, a 1 for 1 copy of Venice back on earth. it follows the daily goings on of Akari, an Undine or Gondoleer for the Aria Company. It's a seriously mellow slice of life that makes you just want to relax. All the characters are great, even Athena who's both Seiyuu's, her normal voice and singing voice have both died, so in Avenniere they have her singing. Ah, the music. It's all classic Italian mediterranean songs and you can just imagine yourself by the sea. Grab Aria "The Box" if you want the complete soundtracks from the 3 mainline series. As for watching order, go by release date. But yes, it's good. Really good.
If I end up in Neo-Venezia in my afterlife, I'll consider it a good place.
I could just leave that video up there as my entire thoughts on this but here we go. It's a good series, bloody good dub as well, considering this was 06 when it was originally recorded and It's a Canadian production instead of the usual Funi I think which makes it even better. God I love Balalaika's voice. But anyway, there's two seasons and Roberta's Blood Trail, 5 ep OVA that's worth watching as well, the author took a few years in Hiatus but has returned as of a few months ago, so there's that. Yes watch it, good violence and story married perfectly.
So after Watanabe made Bebop, how do you follow up the Jazz and space combo? You go Rap and Samurai. And surprisingly, it works. If you've ever seen Boondocks the "Blind Nigga Samurai" part was directly inspired by this show. Describing individual episodes really isn't this show's strength as they sort of flow into one another, rather it's the journey through them that matters. So give it a watch, worthwhile. Dub is decent as well.
I love this Dub. The plot of Ghost Stories is quite generic, girl lets loose an evil spirit that takes the form of a cat, mother wrote a book of the things that were summoned and she and her friends have to try and seal them back up. What separates this from a boring 5/10 to a hilarious 8/10 is the English Dub. There's another version of the English dub that's proper, but the comedic one contains alot of 2001 references, even stuff like Bruce Jenner, bombing abortions clinics and inappropriate humor like that. It's refreshing in the PC era we live in. This dub also got official approval from the company, even if they didn't understand it. It's also about 5-8 years before abridged series became a thing so it's a trendsetter. Watch it, it's just funny as it is uncouth.
Right, Two different adaptations and I'd get flak if I didn't include the 1980s one. This is a series dating back to 85 and the basic plot of both is that Shin Kazuma, the guy with hair covering one part of his face, a former commercial airline pilot is tricked into signing a 3 year combat deal with a mercenary company. He gets transferred to the battlezone and basically Ace Combats it up in-order to A, pay off the 1.5 million cancel clause on the contract or try and get a plane that run from the base, but good luck considering that it's 1000km to anywhere that isn't desert. 1985 one was heavily inspired by Top Gun at the time and the 2004 one was probably more Ace Combat. It's a decent watch over all, the electronica from the 2004 one for example is something to hunt down and I'm surprised that the idea of needing to pay off a merc contract hasn't been made into a flight sim yet, considering how well AC and Project Wingman are doing these days.
So this is the most recent adaptation of Astro apart from that god awful movie years back. What makes this one a little different is the Dub essentially turns it into a Saturday Morning cartoon, They even changed the intro so it'd fit in more. Why watch it? Astro is a bot built by Dr.Tenma, who's always urging Tobia to "Evolve", to become stronger so he goes up against people like Atlas, Pluto and the Blue Knight but through it all he's always trying to get robots and humans to work together. It's a strong pacifism angle in that Astro only attacks in self-defense and his sense of wanting people to get along tries to sway them. Like I said, Saturday Morning Cartoon. And that's okay by me, I still enjoy it despite how it's aged and how grating Astro's voice can get sometimes. Characters like Tenma make up for it though.
Another forgotten classic. enter text Haibane started out as some Doujins Abe Yoshitoshi was drawing around 98. He was approached by an animation company that loved his work and over a year or two he got down the basic plot settings and characters. The basic plot is that Angel like beings are born into a town with human inhabitants, with a giant wall surrounding it and that's literally it. You can guess the metaphor at play here because this is the same creator as Lain but what's interesting about this is you follow a "Life-cycle" of a Haibane. They end up here, work in the town, stay in the Old House then get a calling to fly over the wall. Give it a watch, it's a very calming slice of life that makes you think as well.
Cromartie relies on the absurd but that's what makes it so good, have a Gorilla because why not, everyone looks like they're from Yakuza because why not, introduce Freddie Mercury and have him ride a horse because why not. You could have this run in the background and just listen to it and you'd still get most of the episode. The dub is pretty good as well, it's just an entertaining series with the average episode at about 15 minutes.
So take Batman, take his suit but give him a mech, a robot AI maid that lives with him not like that and Alfred loses an eye and you have Big O. Originally ordered by Toonami I think to show on Saturday morning, the first season was popular enough to spawn a second one but Toonami went bust around then I think so the ending got horribly rushed. Still it's a decent mech anime even if you're only watching it for Dorothy.
This one will hit close to home for a few people, as the perpetually tired protag can draw a few similarities with what's happening today. None the less it's a slightly edgy urban drama that has characters doing the odd criminal job in a city where it never stops raining. There's this heavy sense of dread over everything and everyone is trying to find their own happiness in this place, even if it gets washed away by the rain. Episodes are generally 2 parts to a single story which makes 26 episodes a good end point. There is a second series but that one's a mixed bag so it's up to you if you want to see it. They trade Tokyo for Siberia.
Yakuza bosses read Visual Novels
So My Bride is a Mermaid could be just your average Harem anime but it isn't simply because said mermaid belongs to Yakuza, especially the boss and his subordinates that want Nagasumi dead for getting close to Sun. I'll say the one thing that separates this series over others is the slap stick and jokes, it's basically a romantic comedy with more comedy than most. Subbed or dubbed is good, they all put in good performances. The anime only covers the first few volumes actually, there's like 8 to 9 in this series if you like it enough.
Don't have much to say on this one unfortunately, I know it looks kind of generic but there was a reason I rated it highly and I can't remember it, which is a shame. I do promise there are dragons later in it though. That much I do remember.
Okay, not many words left, adding 3 here Noir ED
Assassin duo operating in France, Mireille is actually from Sardinia. Starts out as simple jobs but there's a deeper meaning to the name they use. Slow story but worth it.
Noir American Roadtrip version. Ellis is the one with powers this time and Nadie has to escort her north across the Rio Grande while they evade the person who's chasing them. Pretty good.
Basically just Cannan hunting down a biological terrorist except she's got Wired Reflexes from Shadowrun so she can dodge past bullets. Is a decent small series.
It's a horror romanceabout a Shota haunted by a black haired beauty that kinda wants to be his gf but also wants to move on. Is more romance than most but still has horror.
One more next post then movies.