Aoi Hana

Synopsis:

After moving back into the town where she grew up in, Fumi Manjome becomes reacquainted with her childhood friend, Akira Okudaira, that had disappeared from her life over ten years ago... and she doesn't even realize it at first. As both girls start reminiscing about memories past they come to realize that even after ten years of separation that nothing has changed between them. Even though the girls go to separate schools it has no affect on their friendship but when one of the ladies at Fumi's school, Yasuko Sugimoto, takes a liking to her and even asks her out. Although Akira supports her friends decision to date anyone she chooses, Akira can't deny the hint of jealousy that goes with it. Fumi and Akira are the best of friends but both girls also realize that there is alot more to thier friendship then they care to admit.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 11


Review:

ZZZzzzzz... hm? Oh, my bad, I just dozed off after watching an episode of Aoi Hana. Aoi Hana, it's a good show, really... it is. The problem here is that it moves so incredibly slow that it's almost impossible to watch more than one episode within 24 hours as it would probably bore the viewer into a negative outlook on the show. But, when watched in single episode viewings over a long period of time, Aoi Hana is actually quite the compelling story of yuri (lesbian) romance amongst high school girls. The only thing is that the plot doesn't quite move in the direction that you were hoping for. What do I mean by that? Well, if I told you that would be spoiling things just a little bit now wouldn't it? Even with Aoi Hana's concrete shoe wearing progression, it does a wonderful job of holding your attention through character relations with each other. As the story may be at a stand still at times, the anime never let's go of your attention while you're watching as you'll be seeing how each one of the characters relate to each other on some level whether it be by sharing similar interests in school activities or on a romantic level of some sort. This is where Aoi Hana shines by managing to show you something that will keep your interest in some way despite the shows lack of progression. Another thing that tends to stand out is the animation. When you look at the background you'll notice how the lack of detail is actually tastefully done on purpose. This not only gives the anime it's own look and feel but also helps you focus your attention to any character on screen no matter how small the part may be, the person speaking just seems to stand out in their own way.

Yeah, I might as well tell you right up front, Aoi Hana is a boring show. But, the thing is... once this anime snags you, you'll be like a fish on a hook and you almost can't stop watching as this shows fabulous character interaction and banter is what carries the non-existent plot along till any real progression is made. Recommended? Yes, but only as a show that's not top priority to finish and this will make for a more enjoyable viewing experience that emits an aura of calm once the show has finished making you glad you saw the whole series from beginning to end. Just make sure you take it in slowly, like an episode a week or so, and you'll find that you enjoyed this anime more than you thought you would.

Aoi Hana (opening)

Recommendation: |Above Average|

Media type: Crunchyroll free internet streaming
From: Crunchyroll
Spoken languages: Japanese
Subtitles: English

Watch the entire series here: Aoi Hana

*Note - Crunchyroll is best viewed with the Firefox web-browser with AdBlock Plus and NoScript plug-ins installed to prevent advertisements. You can also purchase a subscription for HD streaming content with no ads. Crunchyroll's online player is crap... but it works. Hey, what do you want for free?

Cromartie High School

Synopsis:

Cromartie High School, well... uh... hm. Y'know, I'm kind of stumped here. How do you write a synopsis for an anime about nothing? I guess it goes a little something like this, Takashi Kamiyama has just enrolled himself into the famous school of delinquents, Cromartie High School. Instead of taking the high road and proving himself better than anyone at school, he attempts to better the student body through a series of stupid questions and idiotic situations that actually make the ruffians think before acting.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 26 (each clocking in at roughly about 10 minutes)


Review:

It's crazy, it's random, and it's pretty damn funny, it's Cromartie High School. An anime that manages to present it's own style while being as stupid as it wants to be and it pulls this off quite well. Each episode usually contains 2 small skit episodes which usually consist of nothing more than a bunch of close ups of peoples faces saying something random that you would not expect from a delinquent. Thinking about things like car sickness, how to become a famous comedian, and who gets to use the bathroom next, you'll either be laughing or sighing at this shows constant shallow humor. There are also the running visual gags like having a robot, a gorilla, and some guy that looks like Freddie Mercury during the later years, as fellow students that appear in almost every episode which I found to be freakin' hilarious. Despite this anime's ridiculous comedy routine, with each episode only being 10 minutes the Japanese dialog tends to come at you rather fast which is fine if you're a seasoned subtitle reader but otherwise things might fly by too quickly to read. Well, (and I can't believe I'm going to say this but...) flip it on over to the English dubbed track as it's actually not bad and listening to a bunch of gruff sounding guys belting out "Americanized" punchlines helped the one-liners sink in alot easier because some of the anime, manga, and Japanese culture parodied references might fall on deaf ears if you're not a veteran anime viewer.

Cromartie High School is a stupid show that will make you laugh at it's lame-ass comedy one way or another and dammit, you gotta respect that. Not something I'd recommend to rush to see but if you got 10 minutes to spare then watch an episode, laugh, then move onto something else but don't forget to come back because everyone needs a little brainless humor. But, if you don't understand this anime's take on humility, then please... go pick up your sense of humor you left at the door and leave.

Cromartie High School (opening)

Recommendation: |Average|

Media Type: DVD
From: ADV/Section23
Spoken Languages: Japanese;English
Subtitles: English

Skip Beat!

Synopsis:

Devoting her entire life to supporting her childhood love, Kyoko Mogomi has done nothing but wait hand and foot on the man she thought she loved, Shotaro Fuwa or "Sho" as he likes to be called. But when Sho grows bored with his life he decides to leave for Tokyo to become an entertainer and asks Kyoko to go with him and she gleefully agrees not knowing what Sho really has in store for her. Upon their arrival, Sho begins to pursue his new career leaving Kyoko to work multiple jobs, rent an expensive apartment to fit his needs, not to mention cooking and cleaning, all to support Sho's rise to stardom as a musician living nothing of her life for herself. However, upon delivering lunch Sho at the studio he works in, Kyoko overhears Sho telling his manager that he's been using Kyoko as a live-in maid and stepping-stone for his rise to stardom. Instead of shedding any tears Kyoko bursts out in a fit of anger vowing revenge upon Sho, but not by physical harm but instead by entering showbusiness for herself and destroying his career.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 25


Review:

Revenge, a dish best served cold. I love a good revenge story, one filled with hardships and complications to meet the ultimate end goal... to make your victem suffer and regret what they did to you with every fabric of their being. To me, Skip Beat started out so well and showed some serious potential. Only after a few episodes I also wanted to see Sho suffer as Kyoko was scary when pissed off, we're talking so scary that when she looks at the viewer you almost want to turn your eyes away from that accusing scorn. Unfortunately, about half way into the series, you start to realize the show started to move Kyoko away from her hatred fueled revenge plot to more of a trip of self discovery. I gotta say I was rather let down by the fact that this anime started to head off in a new direction as Kyoko starts to regain her compassion that was lost when Sho betrayed her. From here on in the show starts to become more of this realization of how Kyoko truly is underneath the surface but this isn't what I wanted, I wanted to see this naive girl turned cold-hearted bitch destroy a man's life... the man she once actually cared for. I wanted to see Kyoko push Sho down so hard the he has a complete mental collapse and decides to jump off the nearest bridge... but no. Instead, Kyoko starts to reflect on how her ulterior motive affects her showbiz career and those around her and everything turns into this personalized documentary of what goes on behind the camera and how there's more than what you're watching on-screen. With this change of events in the show, that look of death that Kyoko had in the beginning was gone no matter how much she scowled at the screen, the piercing gaze now only serves to remind you of that frighting girl you now probably miss from the beginning.

The animation is decent and I really liked Kyoko, when she was Hell bent on making Sho pay for wasting her life away. But as she grew soft, I lost interest, and it made it quite hard to continue watching. And on top of all this, Skip Beat is left with a bunch of loose ends and no real closure so that suggests a second season but I haven't heard anything and as it is... Skip Beat is rather hard to recommend. If this anime stuck to it's original roots... it would have been a different story.

Skip Beat (opening)

Recommendation: |Below Average|


Media Type: Crunchyroll free internet streaming
From: Crunchyroll
Spoken Languages: Japanese
Subtitles: English

Watch the entire series here: Skip Beat!


*Note - You can purchase a subscription there for high definition streaming and no ads. The site is best viewed using Firefox with AdBlock Plus and NoScript installed for better playback with no ads. Crunchyroll's online player is less than spectacular but it works... sort of...

Gilgamesh

Synopsis:

Twin X, the event named after an accident at the Heaven's Gate research facility that had a catastrophic affect changing the Earth's sky into a mirror-like ceiling destroying anything the comes near it and causing all electronics to no longer function. Below this dome of death, two teenagers, Tatsuya and Kiyoko Madoka are on the run from the Yakuza because of a debt owed by their now dead mother. Taking shelter from their pursuers and the rain, Tatsuya and Kiyoko in what appears to be an abandoned building. However, they happen upon a group teenagers dressed in skin tight leather outfits and display extraordinary psychic powers that call themselves "Gilgamesh". After the Gilgamesh teens quickly dispatch of the gunmen in chase, they come to realize the the two kids taking shelter in their humble abode are also the children of Dr. Madoka, the absent leader of their group whose dream it is create a new more powerful human race. Unsure of what powers Dr. Madoka's children may posses, the Gilgamesh try to convince Tatsuya and Kiyoko to join their group of gothic depressants.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 26


Review:

First off, I gotta apologize on that synopsis up there. My mind is a little cloudy since it took me over a year to finish this series.

... yyyyyeah...

Anyway, the first thing that will probably get your attention is how dark and brooding this anime's visual appearance is. Only a handful of colors make up the palette ranging from several different shades of gray and brown to a few dull instances of red, blue, and one very faded yellow... and that's it. Let me put it this way, this show makes you depressed just by looking at it even if the episode was on pause. Unfortunately, this doesn't help the overall boring plot that just slowly plods along and never seems to produce anything interesting to keep your mind from wandering off. The show did start out interesting enough with everyone displaying their psychic abilities and how much power they have but the story behind it is incredibly boring offering up nothing that you didn't already expect. By the time the show hits it's climax and puts everything together it only comes across as ridiculously lame and almost makes you want to shut off the last episode and not even finish it. And there really is no point in getting into any kind of character depth because you just won't care at all about a bunch of angsty teens whose constant barely audible mumbling make it seem like they are trying to be as uninteresting as possible on purpose. Well, it worked.

The only thing that sort of stands out about this series is the actual animation itself as it appears very out of the ordinary for anime trying to take on a more realistic appearance instead of the classic style that most are used to. Other then that, this show has nothing to offer other than showing you what happens when goth vs. emo is pitted against each other in a supernatural brawl. If that sounds interesting then by all means, check it out but as for me the interesting animation style just didn't mesh very well with the extremely slow moving plot and characters that had about as much enthusiasm as being awake only after two hours of sleep. Like I said, it took me over a year to actually get through the entire series.

Gilgamesh (opening)

Recommendation: |Low|

Media type: Netflix 'Watch Instantly' internet streaming
From: ADV/Section23
Spoken Languages: English
Subtitles: None

*Note - This series is available on DVD that contains both Japanese and English audio and does have subtitles available. Information posted is what was watched for review.

Shigurui: Death Frenzy

Synopsis:

1629, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Two samurai of incredible skill are about to face off against one another in a tournament and only one will walk away with his life. Fujiki Gennosuke, the one-armed swordsman will be fighting Irako Seigen who is both blind... and crippled. But before the duel begins, let's see what happened to bring these two together to this death match.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 12


Review:

Never before has show as powerful as this one drawn me in so quickly within the first episode. It wasn't the plot or that the characters held any real on-screen presence but it was the realistically styled animation combined with a wonderfully haunting soundtrack that it heightened the atmospheric tension making it so thick you could practically cut it with a knife. This is a magnificent presentation of a story that involves a samurai school called the Kogan-Ryuu school with it's own fighting techniques and secret stylized sword-fighting and it shows you all the hardships it's students endure to be accepted and remain as a pupil under it's demented grandmaster Kogan Iwamoto. This anime portrays this out to the audience so well that every time a blade cuts through the flesh or a balled up fist strikes with such power to dislodge a few teeth, the anime uses a quick yet very dramatic effect and you can practically feel the pain being inflicted upon the victim but at the same time you can sense the power of the predominant character. This presents you with clashing feelings of sympathy and dominance at the same time which is an incredible way of causing inner conflict in the viewer and when the blood flows... it comes as more of a shock to the system rather than something to be expected. Throughout the show not much is really spoken but the eerie soundtrack is more than enough to keep the audience wondering what will become of this school as things keep getting worse when things like money, power, and debauchery, enter the story you watch as one of the most extremely powerful samuari schools implodes into a shadow of it's former self.

Superb animation, a magnificent soundtrack that makes an incredible atmosphere that offsets it's lack of detailed characterization that sends chills up and down your spine, and enough blood to make you wince in pain every time you see it seep from a fresh wound, Shigurui: Death Frenzy should not be missed. Even if you're not an anime fan, give this two-disc set a shot as it will not disappoint.

Shigurui: Death Frenzy (trailer)

Recommendation: |High|

Media type: DVD
From: FUNimation Entertainment
Spoken languages: Japanese;English
Subtitles: English

Watch the entire series at FUNimation's website here:

Shigurui: Death Frenzy (subbed)
Shigurui: Death Frenzy (dubbed)


*Note - I do not care for English dubbed anime so I can't comment on the English audio track. However, there were no typographical errors in the subtitles so this anime kept me enthralled the entire time. What are you standing around reading this for, go watch this... NOW!!!

*Note 2 - You may need to disable AdBlock Plus to view the videos. I've read that there are some issues with the online player that are being addressed. At this time it occasionally tends to lock up so if something happens, just refresh the page with the video and skip to the point where it left off and you're good. Videos play much more smoothly with the Firefox web browser.

Kaze no Stigma

Synopsis:

Kazuma Yagami, a weak member of the Kannagi family of fire magic users. So weak to the point that he was banished from his own family for the inability to control flames. After leaving, Kazuma's desire to obtain greater power leads him into a "contract" with the Wind Lord that allows him to manipulate the atmosphere around him. After a four year disappearance, Kazuma returns as a freelance magic user employed to rid any demons that may be troubling someone... for the right price. However, when members of the Kagammi family are murdered by what appears to be wind magic, the blame immediately falls on Kazuma who doesn't really care about the situation but decides to defend his innocence anyway. As Kazuma teams up with Ayano, a flame sword wielding girl, and his younger brother Rin, he learns that the Kannagi family has more than one enemy. Kazuma is about to profit nicely for his services.


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24


Review:

Kaze no Stigma has to be one of the few shows where every episode annoyed me to the point of just wanting to shut it off, put the DVD back in the Netflix envelope and remove the rest of the series from my rental queue. Not because of it's lame plot or average animation but for the fact that I could not stand the protagonist, Kazuma. From the very first episode I kept thinking that this guy is a self-righteous prick and the thing is, he never changes and my hatred for this guy grew episode after episode. To make things worse, the anime tries to throw in this romance aspect between Kazuma and Ayano which almost felt like it was throwing a monkey wrench into a poorly kept machine only dragging the series down... as if the series could sink any further. These "romance" scenes usually consist of Kazuma being a dick, Ayano getting mad then getting flustered at him, and then some more of Kazuma being a dick. This doesn't compliment plot of elemental magic users (Avatar?) at all, but it doesn't matter anyway as the battle scenes all boil down to one thing, Kazuma getting pissed or acting all cool and destroying any enemy with his wind magic in an instant which becomes both boring and predictable after a couple of episodes. This series also suffers from the fact that it's way too long for it's own good. About halfway into the series hit it's peak with a huge battle and an episode ending that could have concluded the entire anime but no... now we get episodes of Kazuma and Ayano on a date, Kazuma and Ayano going to the amusement park, and of course... Kazuma being an asshole the entire time. What the hell is this crap? I thought I was watching an anime about families of magic users facing off against one another but this romance aspect is completely tacked on, tasteless, and a total waste of the viewers time.

As it is, Kaze no Stigma is neither entertaining nor satisfying in the least. It would have benefited more had character relations been kept to an extreme minimum because the main character, Kazuma, does nothing more than draw audience negativity upon himself. This would have fit the overall series better had magical action sequences been the main focus or maybe some sort of drama or comedy been interjected but no. What we get is a flimsy plot, a horribly failed romance aspect, poorly scripted action sequences, and in the end the typical Gonzo fashion... a rushed ending that makes you feel like the creators just wanted this series to end so they could be done with it. Kaze no Stigma is complete crap from start to finish that isn't worth anyone's time, and Gonzo... Ayano's constant panty shots didn't help at all and only made things somewhat sexy but still pathetic.

Kaze no Stigma (opening)

Recommendation: |None|