Review #5: Innocent Venus

Hey, sorry about the long time of absence. With school and work taking up most of my time, it's pretty hard keeping up. I'm going to try and make up for lost time, so I'll probably toss in another review later this week. Without further ado, let me review this week's series, Innocent Venus.

Innocent Venus takes place in the future, after in 2010 (gulp!), "hyper hurricanes" have wiped out 5 billion of the Earth's human population of 8 billion people. The remaining group has started a new world order, where the rich, the Logos, are at the very top of the world, while the poor, the Levinas, are left to rot, with no help whatsoever. The story starts in a militaristic section, where Logos troops are pursuing a white-haired man escorting a pink-haired girl. Jin is an ex-Phantom, a former member of an elite combat unit specializing in the use of light mechs. Nobuto Sana is a little girl with a huge secret--one so special, that the aforementioned combat unit Phantom is trying to capture her. Together with fellow ex-Phantom Jo Katsuragi, they attempt to protect Sana from Phantom as well as freelancers that would love a shot at whatever it is that makes Sana so special.

You may have noticed that this synopsis was remarkably shorter than my previous ones. There's a very good reason for that; Innocent Venus is only a 13-episode series, that still relies on using plot twists and unexpected plot devices, so it is very difficult to go further in depth with the story without actually spoiling anything.

As far as the animation is concerned, it's pretty damn good. Innocent Venus uses some CGI to animate the mechs, among other things, but it also does so extremely well. The music is also top-notch, featuring an opening song by Yousei Teikoku, Noble Roar; admittedly one of my favorite songs. The ending is also pretty cool, Brand New Reason by FLEET. There is another interesting fact about Innocent Venus--it has no manga adaptation. This is probably largely due to the fact that Innocent Venus is quite obscure, and therefore has a rather small fanbase.

To be honest, I don't understand why Innocent Venus is so unknown. Its story was amazing, to say the least, and the battle scenes were actually well-made. The characters were also very interesting; if you see Toraji in the show, you will immediately understand what I mean when I say they are treading on brand-new territory. As far as a downside is concerned, there are some characters that were eventually just forgotten, such as Gora, who rarely made any appearances after about episode 4. Regardless, if you're looking for an obscure title so that you can be different, yet still enjoy a high-quality show, then Innocent Venus is the show for you.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Review #4: GetBackers

For starters, I apologize for releasing this one so late after #3. Things are a little hectic for me around here, but I'm still going to try to keep up.

Anyway, GetBackers. The story revolves around 2 guys who form a "retrieval agency" whose punchline is "We get back what was taken." First, there is Ban Mido, a man descended from witches with the power of the Evil Eye. By merely looking into a person's eyes, he may create a perfect illusion to that person for up to 1 minute, once a day. Then, there is Ginji Amano, a man renowned as the "Lightning Lord of Infinity Fortress,"who can control the natural flow of the electricity of his muscles and amplify them, causing powerful shocks to those who oppose him. Together, and with the help of a few friends who also possess supernatural powers, they work together to get back what's been taken.

With the synopsis out of the way, I would like to state that while the synopsis is that small, it is for good reason--this series, both in the manga and anime, possesses a different plot every arc, meaning that there is no one main plot to the story. Also, I'm going to have to make some major differentiations between the manga and the anime, because at some points, they are that different.

First of all, the anime has a few crippling weaknesses despite its strength as a graphic novel. The first example I should give is blood volume. There are many fights in the series, many of which including a man who fights with scalpels hidden in his body, Dr. Kuroudo Akabane. I would understand it if they only showed a few blood droplets every now and then when somebody gets a mild slice. However, the original is censored so badly that no blood appears at all, even in scenes where people get impaled. It's understandable that in some cases, there must be censorship, but I believe it is unreasonable to censor something that badly. Another weakness it has is with music. With the exceptions of Namida no Hurricane and Changin', the other openings and endings range from mediocre to impossible to listen to. Additionally, the anime adaptation actually changes the intended crowd. For example, the manga is filled with gratuitous fanservice, including Hevn, the coordinator for the GetBackers, wearing close to nothing in every frame she's in. However, the anime changes so drastically, that the show tries to focus almost on a homosexual relationship between Ban and Ginji, easily ruining the show for anybody who read the manga and isn't a yaoi fangirl. Finally, the anime is actually missing about half of the story arcs from the manga, including Natsumi's background, the Marine Red wine, and many others. With all of this said, I feel like I should give separate scores between the two mediums since they are so different.

The anime falls short. With interesting characters but unreasonable censorship, destruction of the true relationship between Ban and Ginji, and poor music, it's reasonable to say that the anime, though not terrible, isn't good, either. For that reason, it gets a 5/10.

The manga, however, is far more entertaining and introduces genuinely interesting story arcs, much bloodier (and more realistic) battles, much more intimidating dream sequences via the Evil Eye, generous portions of boobage, and an overall better delivery. For that reason, it gets a 9/10.

Overall, then, the final score becomes a 7/10. Read the manga, don't bother with the anime unless you want to experience firsthand how much better the manga is, as well.

Review #3: Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

For this next review, I thought I'd start hitting some titles of semi-obscurity. Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, or "When the Seagulls Cry," is actually an anime that was based on a VN, or visual novel. VN's are essentially books where you choose which path to take; each path containing its own consequences. This being said, my first word of advice is to not get too confused when the first "arc" ends.

In any case, let's move onto the synopsis. Umineko is based on the island of Rokkenjima in the year 1986. The super-wealthy Ushiromiya family head, Kinzo, calls for an emergency family meeting. His personal doctor, Doctor Nanjo, tells him some troubling news--he has only 3 months to live. In total, 11 of Kinzo's relatives come to the island to hear about his announcement regarding both succession of the Ushiromiya family and the vast fortune of gold that goes along with it. However, with that gold lies a dark secret, that of the Golden Witch, Beatrice. At the beginning of the first night, directly after dinner is finished, Ushiromiya Maria, the daughter of Ushiromiya Rosa, reads an envelope that was handed to her by the supposedly "dead" Beatrice. According to the letter, the gold all belongs to her, but she is forced to relinquish all of it if any one member of the family can decipher the epitaph placed directly below the portrait of her Kinzo has. However, in the event that nobody can figure out what the riddle means, Beatrice adds that everyone on the island, servants included, are at risk of being sacrificed for the "Golden Twilight". To make matters worse, a typhoon hits the island in such a time that everyone on the island is stranded there with no connection to the outside world whatsoever. For days, just as the wording on the epitaph states, people start being killed in a manner consistent with that of the epitaph. Battler Ushiromiya, the son of Rudolf and Kyrie Ushiromiya and the main protagonist of the story, not only strongly disbelieves in the existence of witches, but also becomes compelled to find out who the culprit is after his parents are killed. At the end of the first arc, the true story unfolds--Beatrice reveals herself to Battler, and proposes possibly one of the goriest games of all time. Beatrice and Battler, in a different "plane", so to speak, look on at the real world at the events that transpire over the course of the series. Meanwhile, as Battler tries to prove that witches cannot exist, Beatrice does the exact opposite and attempts to prove their existence. This battle of wits goes through many different possible scenarios, each of which changing some deaths and times around. Battler's true job, whether he likes it or not, is to figure out which of the 17 other people on the island is responsible for everyone else's deaths.

In addition to the synopsis, I would like to add that Umineko is unlike many other anime in that it is also a game, of sorts. As I interpret it, at least, Beatrice doesn't actually exist; rather, Battler is correct, and it is an alias the true culprit picked up and is using as a cover while they perform their misdeeds. To add more to the game, while "Beatrice" and Battler converse, occasionally one of them will make a statement in red. Whenever that happens, that means that the statement they just made is an absolute fact; no evidence is needed to support that fact, because it is a fact given to help the "player", or viewer in this case. Furthermore, at various points in the series, many characters, including the witches Bernkastel and LambdaDelta, will pick out statements that Battler made that are totally incorrect. This being said, if just being entertaining isn't enough for you, this show provides plenty of puzzles for those who would like to sharpen their minds.

Umineko, while most famous as a VN, is also famous for its anime's ending theme, La Divina Tragedia ~Makyoku~. If you've ever seen the phrase "YAMI WO KIRISAKU OH DESIRE" before, you now know that it comes from this song, specifically. If you would like to hear the song for yourself (and maybe laugh a little while you're at it, given how funny Jimang sounds), you can listen to it here. On a related note, for future reviews, I plan on providing links to youtube, etc. for the opening and ending themes to the anime I post about, so that you can listen for yourself and see if you like it. Anyway, back to Umineko. The ending theme, however, should not be the only music to judge the show by (especially because I personally like La Divina Tragedia). The opening theme, Katayoku no Tori by Shikata Akiko, is incredibly appropriate for this show--the melody itself seems to almost speak of great rewards at greater risk; much like how everyone on the island will die unless one finds the gold. The visuals are pretty nice as well, especially in comparison to their rather crazy-looking VN counterparts. Do not underestimate this show, however; Umineko is quite gory, and very little actually gets censored. There is a small amount of CGI to be found in Umineko, but most of it is when Beato's golden butterflies are going around, or when some kind of a "magic battle" takes place, such as the one between Beatrice and Virgilia.

Before I conclude this review, I would like to state two very important things about the "game" portion of Umineko. First and foremost, they never reveal who the killer actually is. Skipping ahead will not teach you anything, since most of the conclusions Battler arrives at are wrong, anyway. Secondly, this is by no means a simple case of "whodunnit," like the shows such as NCIS or CSI. While I (admittedly) still have no idea who the culprit is, I would like to recommend to the new viewers that they take down statements other than just those Beato makes in red regarding murders, parts of the mansion, etc. Obviously, when I say "statements", I'm referring to when a character gives an unbiased fact about something. For example, if character "X" said "There is a lamp on that table," I would record that, but if that same person said "That lamp is ugly," I would not, since character "X" may find things ugly that others find attractive. While I may not have solved the mystery as a whole, I have figured out answers to seemingly impossible questions.

As far as anime are concerned, Umineko, though not by any means mainstream, certainly proves itself to be, if nothing else, a highly enjoyable thriller. I would like to take a moment and mention that as is the case with most anime based on VN's, try out the VN after watching the series. Others may argue that because the VN is better, the anime is a waste of time. By watching the anime first though, if the VN is indeed better, you'll tend to end the series on a much better note. I will continue to say this every time I review an anime like this, so I hope you take my advice. Anyway, like all anime, Umineko is not without its problems. I think the first and foremost is that first-time watchers of shows like this will probably become helplessly lost after episode 5, where the first story arc ends. Additionally, a lot of the tidbits of humor tossed into the story seem out of place. For example, Battler greets his cousin, Jessica, by asking if he could squeeze her tits. Not only is that weird, but it wasn't really even all that funny. Finally, while I find the whole addition of "magic" to crime scenes to be innovative, I feel like in some places, it was totally unnecessary, such as the battle between Beato and Virgilia. Never underestimate just how strong this series is. While parts were a little out of place, the whole product is one that makes a lot of interesting points, and is a much more challenging mystery to solve than those from the aforementioned shows. Also, if you can't figure it out, don't expect a 2nd season to show up and reveal the culprit; it seems highly unlikely that a sequel will be made to finish it, and furthermore, it seems like as hard as it is, we probably have enough information to solve this mystery on our own, as long as we dig. Overall, I feel this series, though underrated, deserves some love.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Review #2: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

For my second review, I figured I'd go with something of a much less serious nature. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a parodic comedy centered around the super pessimist Itoshiki Nozomu, a teacher at a local high school. Unlike most other parodies of its type, SZS does not have a central plot; rather, it focuses on making fun of everything in a highly episodic manner. While many of its targets are fellow anime series, it also makes fun of the people that watch those series, visual novels, actors and actresses, and even manages to delve into political and sports satire, as well as worldly problems such as unemployment and identity theft. Additionally, the students in the classroom, in their own way, actually make fun of common character archetypes, such as bipolar, nerdy, amorous, foreign, and even "normal" characters. Each female student seems to also hold some form of affection for Nozomu, even though most of them like him for bizarre reasons, such as how he looked while wearing a tail, or because he woke up next to one of the students in the nurse's office one day. On top of this, every character in the series (more or less) has a name that in some way relates to the character itself. For example, the name "Itoshiki Nozomu," when written in kanji, looks like "糸色望." By merely crunching the first two symbols together, we get a character that looks like "絶望" which when read now, reads "zetsubou," which means "despair;" highly fitting for the most pessimistic teacher ever. Patterns like these continue for just about every student, as well as for Nozomu's family; making puns on word pronunciation, portmanteaus, and even references to real-life places, such as the Kinokuniya bookstore chain. Just about everything about this show is some kind of a reference to Japanese culture, including the good, the bad, and the ugly.

One thing I would like to state before anything else is that this show has an all-star cast of seiyuu (Japanese voice actors/actresses that also sing). Voice talents such as those of Kamiya Hiroshi, Goto Yuuko, Kobayashi Yuu, Nonaka Ai, Inoue Marina, and Horie Yui are just a small portion of the cast that perform in this series. Also of noteworthy mention, the opening themes to this show are (almost) all performed by one of my new favorite singers, Ohtsuki Kenji. The combination of his rock/metal appropriate voice with those of the aforementioned seiyuu often makes for a highly entertaining song collection, including "Hitotoshite Jiku ga Bureteiru", "Kuusou Rumba", and "Ringo Mogire Beam!". However, don't be fooled by the audio track alone--this show is as much a visual feast as an acoustic one. This show is not only incredibly artsy, but also focuses rather heavily on character designs. For that reason, it's possible to actually figure out what the artist to the series, Kumeta Koji, likes most in his female characters; most notably, long legs/thighs. However, unlike most other comedies that have to resort to obscene amounts of fanservice in order to maintain their fanbase, SZS really only designated about 3 or 4 characters to that role; namely Chie-sensei, Kimura Kaere, Kobushi Abiru, and to a lesser extent, Komori Kiri. Furthermore, of these 4 mentioned, only Abiru really shows up often.

To state what should be obvious at this point, SZS is one of my all-time favorite anime series. I would also like to state that there are 2 sequels and 2 OVA series to follow up the first season-Zoku SZS, Goku SZS, Zan SZS, and Zan SZS Bangaichi. The series, a banquet for the eyes and ears as it is, does have its share of problems, however. The biggest and most noteworthy problem is the form of humor it capitalizes in; parody. While I may find most of the jokes made in the series funny, the show requires one to have at least some knowledge of Japanese culture, in addition to knowing certain common Japanese terms that aren't found too often in other parts of the world, such as the term "NEET," or a person Not involved in Education, Employment, or Training. Simply put, the weakness of all parody-based shows is making fun of topics that not everyone is familiar with. While one may easily look up any terms they don't know, most people, unfortunately, would rather not have to look up a word in order to find a joke or a jab funny. For this reason and this reason alone, I cannot recommend this series to everybody. However, for those who would like a comedy with great music, amazing art, and have at least some understanding of Japanese culture or a will to learn more, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is for you.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Review #1: Neon Genesis Evangelion

For my first-ever anime series review, I figured I'd start with one of the first series I ever watched. Neon Genesis Evangelion (or Shin Seiki Evangelion, if you want the original name) was created in 1995, making it older than most of the series you occasionally see floating around on TV, like on [adult swim] or IFC. I feel that it is worth noting that this was one of the animation company GAINAX's first major contributions to anime, and was also adapted into a few live-action movies. Additionally, it was given a movie meant to replace the last two episodes, known as The End of Evangelion. It also features a few very well-known voice actors, such as Hayashibara Megumi and Ogata Megumi.

The story takes place in a part of Japan known as Neo Tokyo-3, a futuristic city built to convert into what is effectively a fortress against the alien-like "Angels;" beings whose sole purpose is to end humanity. In charge of defending this city is the mysterious organization known as "NERV," commanded by the amazingly cool and collected Ikari Gendou. Gendou being the guy that he is, his main weapon of choice to combat these Angels are what are known as the Eva Units; bionic mechs with all of the tools necessary for killing Angels. Of course, there's a catch--for some reason never thoroughly explained, Evas only have a high synchronization rate with pilots whose age is only around 14 to 15. This is a kinda big deal, since unless a pilot reaches a certain synchronization threshold with their Eva, it simply will not function. Gendou then decides to rectify this by drafting his own son, Ikari Shinji; who, coincedentally, happens to be 14, in addition to the rather emotionless Ayanami Rei and the fiery Sohryu Asuka, also 14. After a short period of doing nothing but whining, Shinji eventually decides to leave the house he was living in alone up until this point, and becomes roommates with one of the higher-ups in the NERV organization, Katsuragi Misato, so that he can readily pilot the massive Eva Unit-01. With Rei in Unit-00 and Asuka in Unit-02, the trio defend Neo-Tokyo 3 from the onslaught of the Angels, while Gendou starts to converse regularly with another top-secret organization known as SEELE. However, as the fights go on, Shinji starts noticing that not all is what it seems to be.

As I had mentioned earlier, there is a movie whose sole purpose is to override the last two episodes of this series. This was not something that the director, Hideaki Anno, just "felt" like doing. The man actually received death threats after his completion of the series, simply because the fans did not get what they had expected. What the fans expected, or maybe just wanted, was an epic battle of cataclysmic proportions. What they received, which in my opinion was in no way bad, was the "Human Instrumentality Project." Essentially, it consisted of a lot of psychological talk and philosophical banter, examining the minds of the pilots, and what seems to me as a reference to René Descartes, a philosopher who arrived at the ultimate statement, Cogito ergo sum, or "I think, therefore I am." I could give a lecture on Descartes, but the general idea of this statement is that it is inconceivable for the human mind to not exist if it can think, while it is technically possible for the body and everything we see to not exist, since according to Descartes, it could be an illusion. Regardless, the movie was pretty much exactly what the fans were looking for, and it, too, was very well made and just as great an ending, to boot. I must warn, however, that there is a rather graphic scene near the beginning of the movie of Shinji masturbating. If I had to guess, I'd assume it was something Anno put in to turn off a lot of the fans that really liked Asuka, who was actually a likeable character.

My first point I'd like to make is that this series, while old, is still considered to have great animation, even by today's standards. Its opening theme, "Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis", or "Cruel Angel's Thesis" by Takahashi Yoko, is still a song I find myself listening to on a regular basis, so I'd be willing to say that it's a pretty good song to go download. The ending theme is also pretty decent--it's a cover of Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon," which, as far as covers go, could be much worse. Also, a relaxing song like that is often some of the only solace you get when tragedy occurs in the series, which happens every so often. As far as the story itself is concerned, make no mistake. I am NOT doing the series justice by trying to explain it myself. There are many plot twists, semiobscure religious references, and gripping battles; each one more desperate than the last. It could be said that many of the battles won in this series were nothing short of miracles. Also, even Shinji's whining isn't unfounded, and therefore also has its place. While parts like those may have been slow, the end result was what many would consider a benchmark series not only in the mecha genre, but in all of anime. Fans of mecha, philosophical debate, or dark stories in general will most likely greatly enjoy this series. With great designs, characters, music, battles, and mindfucks lead into a series that is nothing short of a masterpiece.

End result: 10/10