Hey there, guys. As you may have noticed, I went past the Valentine's Day deadline for this particular post. I delayed this on purpose because the message behind this whole thing is the kind that we tend to ignore, especially when we strive for love. You probably think this is cynical me trying to tell you that love does not exist. On the contrary, I do believe in love. Rather, I think love is being viewed the wrong way.
THE WORLDY VIEW OF LOVE
As insecure as we can be, we can become very selfish and demand unrealistic expectations for this entity called love. We come up with lists of ideal traits for a partner and fantasize about romantic gestures (most prevalent during this time of the month), because we have this little belief that we are meant to be valued and that romantic love is the solution. Then we are hit with the reality, that love is not treated as this passive cure. You eventually learn that depending on your relationship on shallow romantic gestures does not keep the spark alive in the long run. And when the love story ends, we make this hasty conclusion that love was never real, and it's all just a shallow feeling. This is because some of us expected it to fix our plain lives in the most magical way possible, kind of like the ones we see in movies or on TV.
But love is not to be dealt with, selfishly. Love is putting all yourself and your prejudices aside, just to make room for someone who is worth that kind of effort. In short, it is a shared act of sacrifice, acceptance, kindness, & respect. Emphasis on shared, especially if this feeling is revolved around two people. Again, a lot of people ignore this side of love because it involves sacrifice. It's a very taboo word because sacrifice means letting go.
Ironically, that's what the anime, "Paradise Kiss" has taught me.
PARADISE KISS' PORTRAYAL OF THIS WORLDY VIEW OF LOVE
Created under the wing of MADHOUSE, Paradise Kiss came out during the 2000's and it is a 12-episode anime based on the manga by Ai Yawaza (Nana) of the same name. It even came out with a live action film produced by Warner Bros in 2011. It starts out as a romance between a high school student named Yukari and an aspiring fashion designer named George, but it ends as an coming-of-age story. It falls under the genre, "Josei" which means it is an adult anime, portraying realistic dilemmas that people deal with in everyday life. So it is safe to say that this is a tragic love story that ends with hitting the right notes.
Although there were losses, the characters gain important lessons…even though it was painful. The characters do not end up together, but they were able to pursue their dreams. Paradise Kiss presents an interesting conflict between fantasy and reality. The dream was to simply have everything; their love, their friends, their recognition, and achievements. But the reality tells them that they cannot have it all. The anime revolves around these two polarizing forces, and the stakes become high when the fantasy wrestles with reality. Basically, our main characters want their dreams to meet with their reality.
Hey guys and happy happy new year! I think one of my resolutions should definitely be returning to blogging. And here I am with another anime review about one of the classics, which is Cardcaptor Sakura. It has returned just recently with another brand new arc, and I intend to commemorate that by going back to the last three seasons it has. It is without a doubt, the best anime I've seen in my entire life. It has a special place in my heart, making it my favorite anime of all time. I've seen this show countless of times, and I've seen it again recently...and it still is the best in my book. So you have no idea, how excited I was when I learned it was getting a sequel...both in manga and in anime.
Cardcaptor Sakura is based on the famous shojou manga of the same name back in 1996 and it is created by one of my favorite illustrators in anime and in manga, CLAMP. They have created other iconic manga turned to anime, like Chobits, X, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (with the characters of Cardcaptor Sakura as the main characters!) and Clamp Detective School. It was then adapted into anime in 1998 by none other than, Madhouse and as you all know it is a very famous studio in Japan. Now this anime is one of the cornerstones of the Shojou genre. It is an anime that was not only appealing to young girls, but also to older audiences and it is one of the most memorable anime shows. However just because it is memorable and an all-time favorite, does it mean it's ground-breaking or simply good? Let's find out.
Hey guys! Welcome back! Let's take a break from the anime reviews because recently I've been getting a lot of confused questions from friends regarding the Naruto fandom. Even if it recently ended last summer, I totally understand why people still do not get the show and I'm pretty sure the reason is quite obvious to hardcore fans. This is what you get when there are just so many filler arcs. This post is here to guide you on common tales and questions that made you confused (and possibly anxious) about the anime. I will be talking common stories and misconceptions that are causing people to speculate about many things, but still can't get a full conclusion to. This is also for fans who have not been following the show religiously, and are probably too lazy to get into it. Believe me, if you are into Naruto then you will need to understand that these types of fans exist for this particular show. Hopefully it will put everything into perspective, since everything that will be mention are definitely published in mangas, novels, and of course the anime. Fair warning though, there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk. Let's get into it!
It has been a while since I did a review on a very simple anime, and it has been difficult for me to review anime shows with a "slice-of-life" genre because of how purposely shallow and straightforward the storyline and animation can be. But as a reviewer of anything anime, I think it would be fair to just be a bit more open-minded, and to give animes with a "slice-of-life" theme a try.
With school fast approaching, I think it is very timely to review another anime related to school...even if the show itself is barely about school. But for this post, I will be reviewing one of the most popular romantic anime shows, Ore Monogatari!! or also known as, My Love Story!! in English. Based on the romantic comedy manga series of the same name, Ore Monogatari was directed by Morio Asaka (Nana, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, and Gunslinger Girl) and written by Natsuko Takahashi (Boys over Flowers 2, The Count of Monte Cristo the anime, Akatsuki No Yona). The studio for this anime is none other than Madhouse, a very well-known company that has produced a lot of great anime such as Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch Man, and so much more. If you haven't heard of Madhouse, then you're definitely not watching enough anime or even cartoons. Feel free to click on the highlighted term on Madhouse, and you will be directed to their website and educate yourself just a wee bit. So let's get started with this review, shall we?
Eyyy and we are back with another anime review, today we are going to tackle another Fate series called Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. It also had a movie shown back in 2010, which pretty much has the same plot. But for this post, we will be reviewing the anime itself. As we all know it is produced and created by the same people who made Fate/Zero (<--- Read the review too, please~~~ ) fellow Type-Moon and Ufotable. It is based on the visual novel, which follows a completely different route from the first Fate/Stay Night (read that review too, *winks*) series that aired back in 2006. This time, there are different perspectives and of course, choice of love interests are far more different. Now let us move forward, shall we?
This review is spoiler free, but there will be minor spoilers from Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night.
PLOT
Okay let me break it down for you......well, the usual happens. Shirou and Rin Tohsaka join the Holy Grail War, where one can attain the Holy Grail and get whatever they want. Of course, they need to summon servants; Rin gets Archer and Shirou gets Saber. They team up together to eliminate other enemies and the Holy Grail itself, because...well, it's too...evil. Like that ever worked out for anyone, right Kiritsugu-san? (source: wall.alphacoders.com )
Heyyo, I am back with another anime review and we are going to talk about Shigatsu wa Kimi No Uso or commonly known as, Your Lie In April. This was based on a manga series shown in Kodansha's Monthly Shonen Magazine, and it was animated by the studio A-1 Pictures (Erased, Sword Art Online, Fairy Tail, and Black Butler). This drama was directed by Kyohei Ishiguro (Fairy Tail) and written by Takao Yoshioka (Elfen Lied). This is also a music anime and the music was done by Masaru Yokoyama (Scum's Wish, Mobile Suit Gundam; Iron-Blooded Orphans). The anime aired back in 2014 and ended in 2015, and is known to be yet another tear-jerking series that tugs at not only your heart, but also your soul.
This review is spoiler free.
Plot
Okay let me break it down for you; Kousei Arima was considered a piano prodigy at such a young age, but a terrible event in his life discourages him from continuing music. Whenever he attempts to play a piano, his trauma returns and he suddenly cannot hear the notes and abruptly stops playing. His life has become quite dull, boring, and even sad due to the lack of closure of his past wounds until he meets a cheerful young violinist named Kaori Miyazono, whose unconventional passion for music brings technicolor into Kousei's life. The two gradually build a strong emotional bond together over their love for music, and little does Kousei know that Kaori is not only helping him get back on his feet, but is also keeping a devastating secret that might shatter him once more (source: Classic )
Welcome to the tamandeggs blog, guys! My comeback definitely means more anime reviews to come. Today I want to start it off with one of the most high-praised anime of 2016, and that is Yuri!!! On Ice. It comes from the studio that gave you Terror In Resonance and Punch Line. It is directed by Sayo Yamamoto (Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, Michiko and Hachin) and written by Mitsuro Kubo (Moteki, Tokkyuu!!). It is deemed as best anime of 2016 in a couple of Anime Awards like Crunchyroll. It was actually the best for many things. But setting fangirling aside, is this anime truly worth its praises? For this review, we will try to see why it is considered the best and how a sports anime was able to top the other shows that aired in the previous year. So sit back and relax, fangirls (and boys). Let's make history!
This review is spoiler free.
Ok let me break it down for you: Katsuki Yuri suffers from a great defeat in the Grand Prix Final. He was considering giving up figure skating altogether until his idol, Victor Nikiforov, visits him in Japan and proposes to be his coach in the next competition. (Source: That's Normal)
Warning: As a way to commemorate Pride Month and gender equality in general, the post will talk about matters regarding anxiety, homosexuality, and how it plays into the anime series. If you are personally offended or not in full support of such things, then I highly suggest to read my other posts or anime reviews that do not touch upon such topics. This site is a place for everyone and there are posts that will certainly appeal to your other interests.
Whaddup guys! For today's post I'd like to talk about Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, the sequel to the Naruto series. The anime is based from the manga of the same name, but the story begins five years before the events in the manga and the Boruto movie occurred. There was a mix of excitement and of concern when Kishimoto made it official to turn Boruto's story into an Anime series. Some people think that it is unnecessary and that it will not live up to the Naruto era (even if the director, Noriyuki Abe, says that the anime will not try so hard to be exactly like the previous series of Kishimoto). But there are others who believe that this show is definitely meant for the next generation of Anime viewers, just like the Naruto series was meant for the previous generations--hence the overlapping title. For this blog post, I'd like to express my thoughts on the Boruto series and maybe make a little comparison of this with Naruto. This will not be that much of an anime review, but more of a first impression. Please read on.
And I am right back with the anime reviews. I am going to continue from where I left off. Yes, Psycho-Pass did have a second season. The reason why I did not merged it with my previous review is because this follows a completely different story. So trying to review two seasons with different storylines might scramble up my mind, and that's the last thing my brain needs right now. So I'm just going to dive right into it.
Okay let me break it down for you; Nothing much has changed for Japan; the Sibyl System still runs the town and uses the Psycho-Pass to measure one's mental stability and dictate one's life. Akane Tsunemori is now head of the 1st Division of the MWPSB and manages a new group of enforcers (latent criminals who are tasked to search for other criminals), as well as a junior investigator. She is faced with a brand new enemy. This is a mysterious man named Kamui, and he is said to have the ability to cleanse one's Psycho-Pass and not have them to worry about it getting clouded anymore. This poses a threat to the Sibyl System, and Akane's team is tasked to find him and eliminate him.
I am on a roll here. Today, I am going to be reviewing another hyped (is it?) anime called Psycho-Pass. It is produced by the infamous Production I.G. (Blood+, Ghost in the Shell, xxxHolic) under the direction of Naoyoshi Shiotani and Katsuyuki Motohiro, and it is written by Gen Urobuchi (Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Aldnoah Zero 2nd Season). It's been on my to-watch list for quite some time. A lot of people that I know personally has recommended this to me, as well. The same goes when I surf the web for top anime lists. This made me even more puzzled about the series. Finally, iFlix's free trial has allowed me to see it. Currently, the anime has two seasons. But for this review, I shall focus on the first season, because season 2 follows a different story and doing a critique on both storylines might give me a headache. So here we go.
Okay, let me break it down for you; In the 22nd century, Japan has completely given in to the wonders of science and technology. The biggest breakthrough is the Sibyl System, which is a high form of technology that serves to uphold law and justice. It does so by looking at everyone's Psycho-Pass, which measures one's mental state and crime coefficient (the higher the number, the most likely you are to become a criminal). The Psycho-Pass determines how mentally healthy you are by looking at your hue or color. If it is light and clear, then the Sibyl System will be able to give you a good job and a very stable life. If it becomes dark and cloudy, then you are in need of therapy. But when worse comes to worse, your crime coefficient may be too high, making therapy an impossible option. You either become a latent criminal or you have to be severely eliminated. We get to view this dystopian world in the eyes of Japan's police force or the MWPSB--particularly Unit One and their enforcers, who are latent criminals who are given a chance to work-- and we get to see how they uphold the standards of the Sibyl System.
Welcome! Today I am going to review one of the most over hyped summer anime of 2014, Tokyo Ghoul! As usual, it is based on the manga by Sui Ishida. It currently has two seasons--the other entitled Root A--and they are both under the studio Pierrot (Flame of Recca, Clamp School Detectives, Naruto, The Legend of Korra, Midori Days, and wow, let's say they've done a lot of notable TV series). To be honest, I had no idea what this show was going to be about until I actually watched it. My first impression towards it was that it was going to be a seriously dark anime. And is it? Let's see.
Okay, let me break it down for you; Kaneki Ken was this depressed introvert with a very stale life until suddenly he gets attacked by a binge-eating ghoul who he briefly had a crush on. However, this attack led to an accident that nearly cost them their lives. In order for Kaneki to live, some random insane doctor decided to transplant most of the ghoul's organs into Kaneki's body. Of course, this comes with a side effect and that is him becoming part-ghoul. Here, Kaneki is introduced to the other ghouls and to their world, which he always thought were just mere threats to the security of Tokyo.
So there will be a brand new anime review coming up on this blog very soon. However, I feel like there needs to be a change in the way I rate anime that I will watch in the future. Rating them with five or three eggs is not enough to justify how I would critique anime. Since it's a brand new year, I am going to change things up a bit.
From now on, I will not be putting a final numerical grade on everything that I will review. Usually, I just decide if the anime is worth three, four, or five eggs (something like a star-rating), but I realized how unfair that was slowly becoming and how this doesn't give enough depth to my reviews. So I will simply tell you if I personally recommend it or not. Aside from that, I will tell you specifically who I will recommend it to the most. Like for Fate/Zero, I would recommend it to anyone who is into mythology and history, along with lots of blood and gore. Or something like that.
I am going to get rid of the hatching scale for the overall rating, and replace it with the Incubator. Here, I will measure it according to how strongly recommend on something that I review. This will still be based on my criteria (Plot, Characters, Music, Art). I have four new different kinds of ratings set for the incubator. The first type of recommendation would be the Tamago Recommendation. Now this means that I highly recommend a certain anime to everyone, because the anime can be enjoyed by absolutely anyone or it is simply the best. The next will be the Hatched Recommendation. This means that the anime is just all right and it will only appeal to a certain group of people. Finally, when worse comes to worse, I would most likely give an anime a Cracked Recommendation. If this comes out, it means that watching the anime that I butchered would be a waste of time and that there are other anime with the same story elements that are even better. Or that you should read the manga instead. If the anime is cracked, then there is a chance that I will definitely not recommending it a certain audience. Rather, I might pull out some other anime recommendations of my own. Anime that I think would be better to watch than the one I gave a terrible review on. Hopefully that will never happen, though.
Although I am not sure if I should push through with this, but I am going to give a numerical grade to the criteria. So the hatching scale will most likely appear when I give three or two eggs to the story, characters, music, and art. This will not completely sway the overall recommendation rating I will give in the end. It will serve as another way for you guys to look at the anime on a different angle, in case my personal recommendation rating (Tamago, Hatched, Cracked) will not be convincing enough. I hope that made sense. Yet again, I will try to incorporate in the first few reviews to see if it will have any effect or significance at all. If not, then I can always remove it.
That is all I want to tell you. Hopefully, this brand new grading system will be more comprehensible and more fair for more future anime reviews that I will be doing here in this blog. If you think there is something faulty with it, let me know on Disqus below. With that being said, please stay tuned for my brand new anime review coming up. If you had time to lurk on my Twitter account lately, then you probably know what I am going to review next. I can't wait to type it because I have a lot to say about this anime. Till the next post~
Hey guys! I'm pretty delayed but since it's still the last week of February, I can still catch up with this brand new review. Since February is considered the love month, then I have prepared an anime film with an interesting love story, and it is The Last: Naruto the Movie. I know, it is a pretty weird choice but it is essentially a romantic story. It is directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi (The Twelve Kingdoms) and the story is created by none other Masashi Kishimoto. An interesting fact about this movie that it is the first Naruto film that is canon; meaning the events that occurred in this movie took place in between the last two chapters of the manga. So I guess I have a right to correlate the film's story to the manga.
Okay let me break it down for you: The story of Naruto and Hinata takes place two years after the Fourth Shinobi War. Everything was peaceful until a strange shinobi named Toneri appears and decides to use the forces of the moon and the power of the Byakugan to "renew" humanity.
As promised a brand new let's review segment is back and today I am going to review a very classic animated film entitled Perfect Blue and it is directed by Satoshi Kon. I mentioned this movie not too long ago in my last Egg Tray post. This movie still hits me to the core, so I really want to share my thoughts on this. Let's get started. Also, I will maintain my streak of giving spoiler-free reviews, so you don't have to worry about giving away the entire thing. Here we go.
Okay let me break it down for you; Mima leaves her Pop Idol career and takes on a new career path as an actress. As she struggles into this whole image change as a much more mature and provocative icon, Mima gradually grows scared for herself as she gains a stalker and a couple of death threats for transitioning into an actress.
Welcome to 2016 my fellow readers! Today we are going to start off the New Year with a brand new anime review. The reason for that is because I intended to review this anime instead of Cowboy Bebop. However, I had to wait for this anime to finish it's second half before I can make a proper review for it. So I had to binge watch Cowboy Bebop so I can fulfill my promise of giving you anime-related posts. Anyway, the anime is finished, I finally watched it and now I am more than happy to review one of the anime shows of 2015 which is called Owari No Seraph. Also, I will be trying this new thing in these reviews where I try to make them as spoiler-free as possible. That way, you can read my reviews before considering your decision on watching them or not.
Also known as Seraph of the End and Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, it is based on the most recent manga of the same name and it is written by Takaya Kagami (A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives, The Legend of Legendary Heroes) and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto (Kure-nai). It is brought to life with the help of Wit Studios, the same animation studios that brought you one of the most high-grossing anime shows of 2013, Attack on Titan. The manga and the anime itself came at the same time, so it is safe to say that we will be expecting more from this show considering the buzz it has created. There is also an ongoing Light novel for this explaining the story of one of the major characters. The anime is also split into two parts during the year. First focuses on a battle in Shinjuku and the second half is called Battle in Nagoya, and as the name implies, the story takes a dark turn during a mission in Nagoya.
Plot
Okay now let me break it down for you; An apocalypse occurred in Japan and it killed almost the entire population. The survivors are children, random demonic creatures, and the worst...vampires. The vampires take over everything, taking advantage of the calamity by offering protection for the humans in exchange for their blood. Now this starts a tyrannical rule amongst vampires and the people are now treated like food or "livestocks". Mikaela and Yuuichiro, the captives taken to the Vampire Kingdom, dream of a life of their own away from vampires. They attempt to go after that goal, but it failed terribly and this left Yuuichiro as the only survivor. Before he can grieve, he learns that not all the humans are dead and there is Japanese Imperial Demon Army and the Moon Demon Company, and their only purpose is to exterminate all vampires. Yuuichiro joins them to avenge Mikaela and his orphan family. But little did he know the Mikaela actually survived and become one of the vampires (photo: taringa.net)
Hello! And it is time for one more Anime Review. I am about to review one of the most classic Anime shows of all time... Cowboy Bebop! It is based off the manga created by Cain Kuga of the same name. The series is directed by Shinchiro Watanabe from the studio Sunrise. Yes it's the same studio that created the beloved Gundam series, Cyborg 009, Inuyasha, Code Geass, and..... Voltes V. So it's safe to say they are experts of the Mecha series, hence Cowboy Bebop is a Mecha Anime. Hahahahahaha. Nope. It's so much more than that.
Okay let me break it down for you; it’s a story about bounty hunters failing at being bounty hunters and in spite of this struggle, they still try to do everything in order to live in the Solar System. Oh, and they may also have to confront with their inner struggles and issues too.
The storyline isn’t like the usual anime that we would
normally see nowadays. Each episode has a unique story and they all seem quite
independent of one another. Since it is the anime of the good old days, you
don’t have to expect that everything in each episode to connect. It reminds me
of one of those cartoons I would look forward to every Saturday morning when I
was a kid. Of course, there will be two-episode arcs here and there to make the
anime look exciting, but that’s just it. And no worries, each episode is
thrilling and epic. The action scenes are all very creative and I can tell the
creator pulled up a few Bruce Lee inspirations for Spike’s fighting moves. I even further researched the anime to see the hidden tones and messages they were trying to portray, and I was completely mind-blown because everything about the anime was apparently philosophical. Like, I can imagine this Anime being featured in an English class and the professor will be like, "Okay, class. Analyze what this show is trying to express and write a paper on it.". It's that kind of Anime. And
yes, the anime has its own whimsical and touching moments, especially when it
gets down and deep with exploring the characters. But I think that’s where they
faltered a bit.
The characters have interesting backstories, and I like how
it drives a certain episode to the edge. Not only that, each of their stories
have a weight. However, I thought their stories could’ve been explored a bit
more. Spike’s story had the most dominance in the anime, and his past with the
syndicate was just compelling. I appreciate how the story still maintains its mysterious
ambience, but it became too mysterious and not only that. the conclusions to
these backstories end up getting a bit rushed. Apart from that minor issue, I
thought the storytelling was great and compelling.
The setting for the Anime is very sci-fi and I can see why
it attracted a lot of Westerners. I can see a lot of similarities of this anime
and our current Western Sci-fi films, books, and series. In the world of Cowboy
Bebop (which takes places in the year 2071), you can live in any planet or moon
on the Solar System because the Earth is no longer a good place to live in
(*looks at a certain Pixar film that had that kind of premise*). Surely when
this Anime was released during its time, the sci-fi ideas shown here were
genius and mind-blowing. I like how society in this Anime has somehow made many
planets habitable. For example, there is an episode where they arrived in Venus
and most of the characters there mentioned many health-related concerns because
Venus was still toxic to live in and the place was not for everyone. And in
this anime, the most ideal place to live in was Mars (well what do you know). Also, if Sci-fi concepts are not enough for you, there are a few gangster and detective themes to enjoy, too. Everything that is considered epic in film and series are all mixed into one series. On top of that, I like how the way of life was still very mundane, in spite of
the major changes and technological advancements. I think the setting is my
favorite part of the Anime of all.
The driving forces of Cowboy Bebop are not the plot twists
or the cliffhangers, but the characters. They are just so enticing to look at.
We have Spike, who is obviously the main guy of the group. He decided to become
a bounty hunter because he thought it was his best way to move on from his dark
past, where he almost a had near-death experience. There is Jet, who owns the
ship called The Bebop, and he handles the mechanics and also the cooking. He used
to be a cop, but an accident caused him to quit the police force. Then there’s
Faye Valentine, a gambler who is just trying to find ways to have a life. We
have Ed, a wandering little girl who is also an excellent hacker. And finally
we have Ein, the most adorable Welsh Corgi I have ever seen.
Now the music is mostly a mix of Jazz and Country, and with
a little bit of rock. The opening of this Anime has the Sherlock vibe to me,
maybe because I usually associate Sleuths with Jazz music. But then you remember
they are bounty hunters, which is something Cowboys in the wild wild west would
do. Now this anime manages to combine the two and create a very unusual
soundtrack.
The art of this anime is really good. The ships and the look
of space is very well-drawn, considering its time. And I love how the random
people they encounter in the story are not lazily drawn in a way that most of
them have similar features. They are all very distinct, because the anime
considers not just one race, but every race. You will see people of Cherokee
descent, African Americans, the typical White American, the Chinese, and many
more, all drawn with their distinctive looks. The effort put into this Anime is
just incredible, because they don’t put all the details into their ships and
main characters, but to everything. The way the other planets look during
civilizations, the way some planets look after certain natural disasters, the
way Earth looks like probably 60 years from now, nothing is glossed over. It is
drawn in a way where my eyes were looking at almost everything because
everything is portrayed in realistic details.
This hands-down the most realistic anime I’ve seen, and it
is even in the Sci-fi category.It's Star Wars meets Sherlock meets The Godfather meets A Chinese Martial Arts film by Jackie Chan meets A Million Ways to Die in the West. The
characters are just so compelling and almost relatable, the storytelling is
great in spite of a few run-overs, and the art is even realistic. I will give
this anime a complete set of five eggs. I am proud to say this anime is
Sunny-side certified.
If you’re into Star Wars, Star Trek, or anything that is
Sci-fi, I personally recommend Cowboy Bebop, especially if you are about to try
Anime for the first time. It is definitely a classic. It doesn’t really contain
any interesting outlandish galactic uniforms or lightsabers, but these
characters all have interesting stories to tell.
And that is it for my last Anime review for the year! Expect
my next Egg Tray segment to be filled with Sci-fi and anime stuff, because I’ve
been into a lot of that recently. But that will not be my next blog post. My
last blog post will be posted before the end of 2015 and I assure you it will
be an interesting read. Till the next post~ Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
to all~
Hello everyone! I am back with a brand new anime review after so long. So without further adieu, it's time to review one of the most mind-boggling anime I have ever seen, which is Baccano!
Okay let me break it down for you; Baccano is based on an ongoing light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita and it is illustrated by Katsumi Enami. The story revolves around a hold-up situation in a transcontinental train named Flying Pussyfoot ( Yes, seriously. That's the name) and this took places during the early 1930s of the United States of America. The train was taken over by three major gangs and one psychotic killer. There were other more suspicious persons on board, as well. So basically, this anime is focused on multiple points of view. The entire series goes from one timeline to another to explain the mysteries and motivations surrounding the incident in the train. The story slowly comes together as the episodes gradually explain who the suspicious figures were, what their motivations were, and how they were able to survive the massacre that took place within the train ride.
I have to admit, the first episode can get very confusing because it jumps back and forth to the past and future. Not only that, the anime has many subplots to keep track of. As one mystery is revealed, another subplot opens. And as you can see, there are many characters involved, so you can imagine how many stories are explained in only thirteen episodes. Also, this anime does not really have a main character unlike most multiple POV anime such as Naruto. To top it off, not all of these stories are connected to each other. Plot-wise, my concern for this anime is that there are so many arcs involved and none of them had a dominant storyline that weaves all of them together. Perhaps the light novels managed to do that, but the anime wasn't able to do so. The way the multiple points of view was handled was only passable for me. I'm impressed that the anime managed to provide backstories, as well as strong conclusions for all the characters. But at the end, I was at total lost on what the real problem was. Yes, it would seem that the anime tackles the immortality theme, and it looked like the major plot, but I don't see how it involves other major characters such as Jacuzzi Splot's gang or even the Russo gang (and these two only seemed directly connected to each other, assuming Vino is out of the equation). So hopefully, this anime would have a sequel because the weaving part was a bit weak, to the point that some of the other subplots almost didn't matter and were only there for entertainment purposes. Apart from that, the setting was well done. The themes were also very interesting. It felt like I was watching Sherlock with a mixture of Hannibal. Aside from mystery and gang violence, there were themes on murder and the supernatural. This actually caught me by surprise when the anime managed to put supernatural into the mix. As if the anime was already complicated, enough. Nonetheless, that aspect was very good. The history of the immortals had a very eerie tone to it, and I like how the immortals are only scared of each other. However it was not the most interesting element in the entire anime. I love how Narita took advantage of the idea of coincidence and inevitability, making them strongly connected. It was done way better than Tsubasa, to be honest, because it was more fluid and well explained. It heavily tapped into the "it's a small world, after all" concept, and it somehow worked well in this show.
A multiple-POV show will involve many characters. The difference between this and other animes that only have a lot of characters, is that all these characters matter. And since this is a mystery story, you can see the clues being revealed through each POV. Now this is different from the usual anime because the usual would normally give this character an arc in order for you to understand them better. But in Baccano, this character gets an arc so you will be able to understand what's going on and why the events in the anime are happening. And since it's very concentrated in the Flying Pussyfoot incident, then don't expect drastic character development.
Although it is not that important, the development for many characters are well done and the best part is that their development fit well in a certain situation. A perfect example here would be Ennis, who is a homunculus created by Szilard Quates. Random cliche but in the beginning of the anime, she appears to be this entity who is expected to simply follow direct orders from her master and to show no emotion. However, Ennis reveals that she actually does have feelings and she gets touched whenever Isaac and Miria treat her like a normal person. Aside from Ennis, there is also Czeslaw Meyer, the youngest immortal who had this dominant fear of being harmed and eaten by other immortals. He exercised this mindset until again, Isaac and Miria prove to him that not everyone in the world is after him.
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Basically, Isaac and Miria not only serve as light comedy for the show, but they were also mediators. They may seem like the most random things ever to walk upon the anime space, but if it weren't for them, then not much character development wouldn't happen and more people would most likely die. So they have every right to call themselves "lucky".
Unfortunately, the rest of the immortals did not have much screen time. They all had one comprehensive episode together, and that is it. So it's hard to tap on these guys without knowing that much about them. But I can talk about the gangs involved in this story. They're just as many as the characters involved in this story. There are the Runoratas, the Laforet followers, Russos, Gandors, Genoards, Martillos, and the gang of Jacuzzi and Nice's. So this anime is not only Sherlock meets Hannibal, but also Game of Thrones. Just imagine the Known World progressing to a much more industrialized era, and boom. There you have it Baccano. Roll the credits. Since it's only focused on the gangster aspect of the United States, expect the term loyalty lurking about in almost every corner in the anime. All these gangs are united and it's hard to say if they're all diverse. The only gangs that showed a whole lot of diversity were the Martillo family and Jacuzzi's gang. They not only exercised extreme loyalty to each other, but they showed how light and fun they can be. Also, I am very intrigued by the idea that Jacuzzi is the leader of his gang, in spite of his fragile personality. Although he proved himself, he's the most soft-hearted gangster and I am quite frustrated that the anime wasn't able to explain his motivations for leading such a life with Nice and the others. I also kinda wished that the other gangs also had certain trademarks that they can be remembered by just like the Martillos, to prove that they're not just all about violence.
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Then there was another mind-boggling villain, who was Claire Stainfield. He's also known as Vino or Rail Tracer. He has everything that you can ask for a psychotic killer. He randomly kills, he enjoys torture, and he's quite the misogynist, but I am afraid that's just it. Again, it's because the anime left on a hanging note. It was very obvious that he had major plans involving Laforet, but within the time duration of this anime, he's just another so-called mysterious crazy murderer. Nothing more, nothing less.
Music
The music is amazing. I love how it is just purely made out of jazz and reggae. It perfectly suited almost all of the scenes in the anime. Here I have a sample of their music, which is also the opening song for the show. It is entitled "Gun's & Roses"by Paradise Lunch. And this alone represents what the entire soundtrack of the anime is like.
I have to admit. The art was kind of underwhelming for me. It was not terrible, but at the same time it was not that impressionable. The style was detailed but it was enough for us to take a look at what the characters are like. First of all, the gory scenes or scenes that contain blood were not as intense for me. It looked like the blood came from Microsoft Paint. However, I think the clothing and setting designs were done very well. What left a lasting impression for me would always be the clothing because they also served as trademarks for most of the characters. For instance, Firo is Firo without the green suit and green fedora. Chane is Chane with the lacy dresses, and I can say the same for Lua. The clothes were all very appropriate for the timeline that they were in. I just well, fell in love with the setting and I appreciated every detailed contributed to create such a dark and gloomy atmosphere.
I give kudos to the anime for being able to explain what simply happened through a number of amazing but less diversified POVs, but the questions of what is really going on and why these events happen still remains. With that, I shall give this anime three eggs. So it's a scrambled for Baccano!
Please do try Baccano, if you are searching for an anime with a Sherlock-vibe or if you're into shows that has a dose of historical fiction and mafias. That is it for my anime review, and I shall see you till the next post~
