Synopsis:
With biological terrorism on the rise, reporter Minoru Minorikawa is sent to Shanghai to an upcoming Anti-Terrorism Conference and is accompanied by fellow reporter Maria Osawa. During a local festival Maria witnesses a man in the audience fall victim to a strange death by writhing in pain and spurting blood before collapsing. Even though he is unnoticed by the public as he just seems part of the rowdy crowd, when Maria goes to examine the now non-moving body she is also unaware that two men donning costumes have drawn their guns with Maria as the target. Before she meets her demise, a woman runs up to Maria and grabs her hand to help her escape by rushing them both into the populous and also avoid a bullet that was meant for her. Maria then realizes her savior is Canaan, an expert in combat training, a skilled markswoman that can utilize the ability of synesthesia, and also… Maria’s best friend. Even though Canaan has no time to explain the situation, Maria has just become the unwilling participant in a bio-terrorist plot to destroy the worlds leaders.
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 13
Review:
Using mindless violence, unexplained deaths, blood, and an emotionally devoid female lead, Canaan wastes no time gaining your attention and manages to keep it for the entire series. Even though Canaan is an anime that uses the typical indestructible heroine, she’s part of a much bigger story that has enough mystery and interwoven history that is all comes together as a well thought out story. But Canaan herself will remain indifferent to the audience as she and everyone else that becomes involved with her are not the main driving force behind the anime as it will rely more on it’s somewhat complex story rather than trying to use characterization to divert the audiences attention. Another interesting aspect as you’re watching the show is that you’ll find yourself hating to admit it, but the enemy starts to become more interesting than the shows protagonists as they almost seem to have a valid point to their driving force to their path of destruction. With this the anime tends to balance everything out quite well and when put with nicely choreographed action scenes, it’s got enough tenacity to push you through all 13 episodes without so much as taking a break.
Great animation, a plot that never falters, fluid action scenes, and enough female gunplay to make any man with a pulse happy, Canaan is one anime that is worth your time. Just don’t be expecting to really connect with any of the shows characters as that’s not the point here but more or less just to tell one hell of a tale.
Recommendation: |Above Average|
Filed under: Action, Adventure, Anime, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Supernatural
Synopsis:
Set in some unknown future, most of human civilization has been destroyed by a environmental catastrophe called the Seven Days of Fire that not only almost destroys humanity, but also the Earth’s original ecosystem. Rebuilding itself, the Earth develops the Sea of Decay which is literally a growing jungle of giant plants, insects, and fungi. But the new natural self preservation, including the air within the Sea of Decay is lethally toxic. Among the scattered surviving human settlements is the Valley of the Wind and one of it’s leaders Princess Nausicaa that seeks to bring peace between the warring human settlements and the insects. But when a plane crash lands nearby and the cargo is discovered to be carrying an embryo of one of the God Warriors from the Seven Days of Fire is found and Nausicaa realizes that things are about to go from bad, to worse.
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 1 (it’s a movie)
Review:
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is yet another story about what could happen if the Earth’s own natural habitat is destroyed by the humans that live there but at least Nausicaa does this in a sci-fi setting that manages to keep things interesting with it’s own unique vision of the future. When you think about the age of the film (1984), it’s depiction of the barren wasteland that humanity struggles to survive in is very well portrayed in a way that has never really been presented before. Not only does this movie entertain you but also shows you that even after we’ve destroyed our own planet that humans are still fighting amongst each other for who gains control of nothing, which not only makes you think but is also showing you how pathetically sad humans can be. What makes it worse is when the story makes you realize that Mother Earth is trying to rebuild her environment for humans through “tough love” by using a lethal atmosphere and and deadly creatures to keep us away while she is at work, but humanity [i]still[/i] seeks to destroy her opposition and each other through our own stupidity instead of leaving nature to take it’s course. Princess Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind inhabitants do realize this and attempt to make everyone understand but there are those who feel her message is all for naught and think that what the human race doesn’t understand… should be destroyed. A movie and bonds with it’s audience through a presentation of disparity and a warning of what life could be in things to come, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind may end on a positive note but also manages to implant it’s haunting vision of the future into the back of your mind.
The only real downside though is that the cast of characters that are devoid of any individuality making them completely uninteresting, but, luckily enough the plot tells a tale that is enough to keep your attention through the entire show even with it’s environmentalist theme. The animation is a little on the dated side and the plot sounds like it would only appeal to hippies, once you watch Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind you realize just how far this anime movie was ahead of it’s time. Worth a one time viewing. But y’know, with all those giant insects roaming around I couldn’t help but keep thinking that I wanted a giant boot to come down and squash everything.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (trailer)
Recommendation: |Above Average|
Media type: DVD
From: Buena Vista Home Entertainment/Walt Disney
Spoken languages: English;Japanese
Subtitles: English
Filed under: Action, Adventure, Anime, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Magical Girl, Romance, Sci-Fi
Synopsis:
While in the midst of an alien invasion, photojournalist Tetsuya Wakatsuki uses it to his advantage to take pictures of the horrors of war. But Tetsuya puts himself too far into the midst of the battle field and ends baring witness to a few up close murders and it’s executioner… a scantily-clad green-haired woman with a big sword. She takes notice of Tetsuya’s inquisitiveness as he’s rappidly snapping pictures of her in action and turns and faces Tetsuya pointing her sword at him as if to claim him as her next victim. She charges towards him and raises her sword to bring his life to an end but Tetsuya dodges the attack and his alien attacker only manages to accidentally set off his camera and at close range, the flash stuns her. Tetsuya seizes the opportunity and grabs ahold of her pushing her against a wall and as the two are locked in a power struggle to even move Tetsuya takes notice that he’s fighting a metallic bikini-clad woman and the alien girl stops resisting his feeble attacks at the same time. Tetsuya backs away not knowing what to think but she quickly walks towards him and plants a kiss on his lips and introduces herself a Kahm. Before Tetsuya can comprehend the situation, Kahm knocks him unconscious and takes him aboard her spacecraft as she claims him as her husband for the worlds first intergalactic marriage.
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 1 (Yeah, that’s it, one 46 minute OVA)
Review:
Originally from 1986, this short film took almost 10 years to hit the U.S. and this little gem has all the story elements you could want packed within it’s short 46 minute life span. You get action, thrills, science-fiction, and romance, in a neat little package that will be leaving you wanting for so much more. The thing is, even with it’s truncated presentation it still manages to tell a fantastic tale. From the moment Princess Kham hits the screen you almost feel a slight hatred towards her until she realizes what she is doing is inherently wrong and she changes her status about the attack on Earth and it’s amazing how this anime does this… in a matter of minutes! Your view will instantly change and you really start to like this bull-headed girl and her claim to Tetsuya as her husband. Not only that, but you also understand how Tetsuya is trying to comprehend all that is going on with everything being thrown at him at once and how he deals with it without being indecisive or overly shy. Also, this anime starts bringing in more and more side characters but the thing is they only need a moment of screen time to determine your feelings towards them as your outlook towards them will never change throughout the course of the show and this is what I really enjoyed about Outlanders. An amazing cast, a short but compelling story, a wonderfully orchestrated soundtrack, and one of the finest forms of quick but appropriate tsundere romances to ever hit the anime scene… Outlanders should NOT be passed up as the animation still stands out even after being over 20 years old.
(Sorry, no teaser video available)
Recommendation: |Very High|
Media Type: DVD
From: Central Park Media
Languages: Japanese;English
Subtitles: English
*Note – Central Park Media is now defunct and this DVD is out of print. If any of you big conglomerate anime companies are reading this, please, do the anime community a favor and pick this up and re-release it!! *AND*… and put the original Dark Horse Comics dub with it as it was fantastic… and I *hate* dubs! Can’t find it? Contact me as I have two, count them “t-w-o”, copies of the original VHS tape that Dark Horse released and I’d gladly lend one to anyone wanting to do another DVD release with both the Central Park Media and Dark Horse dub on a DVD… along with subtitles of course. I’m not joking about this… anybody? Hello?
Synopsis:
After receiving a tip about an underground club that caters to ones most bizarre and perverted desires for the right amount of cash, Tatsumi Saiga, a freelance photographer, decides to investigate. Saiga’s lead proves to be true and after sneaking into the secretive establishment he also realizes that most of Japan’s most powerful people are satisfying their lust for the strange in hiding from the public. As Saiga witnesses a bizarre ritual taking place at the center of the club he decides to try and get a closer look and notices a young girl (15 year old Kagura Tennozu) being lowered from the ceiling towards a a short pudgy looking customer in the center of the establishment. Saiga is in complete awe of the girl and decides to take a picture while the moment is right, however, he is immediately discovered and attacked by security and also the clubs patrons. As the young girl decends to the ground during all this commotion she kisses Saiga and awakens something within him, a bizarre desire and with the next picture Siaga takes… causes an explosion. Not one to question his new found power, Siaga escapes from the underground pit of hell taking the now confused girl with him to discover the truth behind whats happening to him.
Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 24
Review:
Take a picture and shit explodes, wow… talk about a lame superpower. Anyways, Speed Grapher did initially have my attention with it’s gritty depiction of an underground club that caters to corrupted politicians and government officials by exploiting their hidden desires all for money. But once Siaga snapped a picture and it caused an explosion I found myself asking… “This? Are you kidding me?” I instantly lost almost all interest in the show as it not only had a ridiculous protagonist but it turned into a cat-and-mouse type of show of the Tennozu family taking Kagura back from Saiga and then Saiga turns and rescues Kagura again putting them both on the run from the Tennozu family once more. As this goes on for the remainder of the series it only barely touches upon it’s gritty feeling the introductory episodes presented making it a rough ride to even to see the series through to the end.
Now even though Speed Grapher isn’t all that great, I gotta admit that the character presentation is actually very well portrayed and manages to answer any nagging questions you may have. You learn the truth behind everyone, where they came from, where they are going and why they are the way they are… including the antagonists. But, this anime tries to put Saiga’s enemies in a positive light towards the end of the series which seems out of place because at this point you already have a hatred towards these characters and the attempts at viewer sympathy towards the enemy are unwarranted leaving you wondering how long until they just die and get off your screen.
Speed Grapher is one anime that manages to shoot itself in the foot early on making the remainder of the series a lackluster experience that I myself was even tempted to hit the ’stop’ button on my DVD remote. The only things that kept me moving on through all the episodes was to see if Saiga gives in and admits to being a lolicon and Ginza, the smokin’ hot detective that abuses her power of authority to try and claim Saiga for herself, no matter what it takes. But, in the end as with all Gonzo shows, everything tries to end on a positive note which in this case makes almost no sense as it could have benefited more had the series stayed true to it’s original roots.
Speed Grapher (opening)
Recommendation: |Low|
Media type: DVD
From: FUNimation Entertainment
Spoken languages: Japanese;English
Subtitles: English
*Note – The opening here is the original opening from the series that is done to Duran Duran’s Girls on Film but FUNimation failed to obtain the rights to use the song and the opening for the DVD version was replaced by some cheesy synth music that’s just plain crappy.
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.
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 free online player is crap… but it works. Hey, what do you want for free?
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
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.
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…
Filed under: Action, Adventure, Anime, Dark Fantasy, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Psycho-Thriller, Sci-Fi, Supernatural
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.
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.
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.
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.
Recommendation: |None|
