Casshern Sins

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (24 episodes)

Premise: The world has gone to ruin. After the murder of Luna and the last great hope of human and robot alike, there is no way to introduce life into the world and the slow decline to death is all but inevitable. Casshern is the man who doomed this world; he killed Luna and now is the only person immune to the wasting. He is no longer the person he once was however; his actions have changed him and now he finally sees the crimes he has committed.

Thoughts: This anime is intriguing due to the fact that we start into it after the final blow has already been struck. We start off in the world were evil has already won and the world is unavoidably doomed to die an agonizing death. We watch as the ultimate villain comes to grips with what he has done and feels remorse. It's vary easy to hate our main character and it always hangs over our head that no mater how much he tries he may never atone for what he has done.

Prose: A dark and gritty story in a post apocalyptic world. The art style is odd for an anime, and is more like a watercolor portrait than actual animation but it conveys the washed out and dreary feeling beautifully and makes this story truly distinctive at a glance.

Cons: You will either enjoy the nuances of this story or truly despise the dark and dreary atmosphere. It is a rather depressing series but then again it is the end of the world.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. Apparently this is a side story to the main series using the same characters in a drastically revised setting and plot, I haven't looked into it myself but it might be worth a look at if you enjoyed it.

8.5/10          (There is no life without fear of death.)

Kanaan

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (13 episodes)

Premise: She was trained as a mercenary, learning about firearms and weapons in place of any kind of childhood. Kanaan whose family was killed during a pointless war was taken in by Siam a soldier who found her in the remains of her house, she is one of the rare people in this world who posses a unique ability called synesthesia which blends the senses allowing to see sounds and taste smells but Kanaan is unique among the rare; she posses synesthesia of all 5 senses and has been trained in their use as a weapon for as long as she can remember.

Thoughts: The entire anime comes across as well thought out and well balanced. There is emotional depth to this series as well as a plot that rewards those who pay attention to all aspects of the anime. While not award winning I do congratulate it as a solid production.

Prose: Great action, plot, animation and music. Truly no fault to this series.

Cons: There are no faults as it were with this anime, but at the same time there remains vary little to make it pop. I have no complaint here other than the fact that it is a SAFE anime that refrained from pushing any portion of the envelope.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. I would like to reiterate that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this story and I do believe that some people would quite enjoy it; but it lacks some creativity that would draw your eye to begin with.

7.5/10          (Real world super powers)

Black Cat

Type: Anime
Status: Complete (24 episodes)

Premise: Train Heartnet is an eraser, an assassin without peer in the clandestine organization of Chronose, but his life is given meaning after meeting a sweeper (bounty hunter) named Saya. Unable to continue his cold blooded composure any longer he attempts to separate from Chronose but ends up on the run instead.

Thoughts: This anime has moments of brilliance intermixed in a somewhat lack luster series. While the major plot developments do show what this anime could have been if only they had directed it in the direction of a dark drama they are to diluted by slapstick comedy and cliche plot devices to truly make this work come alive.

Prose: Moments of brilliant drama and a clean and polished animation make this anime what it is.

Cons: The plot actually starts off better in the first episode than slowly declines from there, as I said they could of had something here had he writer decided to go for a maturer audience.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. 

6.5/10          (Trains costume: Beginning >End>>>Middle) 

Princess Resurection

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise: The royal family of demons is in a state of civil war among itself, each of the heirs are wagging a bloody war to determine the next successor to their realm. Hiro Hiyorimi is killed in a freak car accident but is resurrected as Hime's blood worrier, an undead bodyguard with amazing regenerative abilities that can continue living as long as it periodically receives blood from its master from the royal family. Now Hiro, Hime and her personal ndroid attendant Flandra must survive the the attacks of Hime's siblings with the help of several retainers they recruit along the way.

Notes: Vary much influenced by the classic monster movie genre we follow along with the main charters as they investigate things like fish men and ghost stories. The plot slowly advanced independently of the episodic style of the manga giving this entire story an old fashioned feel.

Prose: Several interesting characters a re born into this setting giving us a reason to root for them.

Cons: This manga starts off well enough but begins to drag as the issues wear on, and after a while there is virtually no plot development to speak of. Basically a decent concept ruined by a writer that doesn't want to let go.

-Notes: I have read up to chapter 63 before giving up on this one.

6.5/10          (I like the support staff better than the main character....)

Unbreakable Machine Doll

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise:  Magic and science have advanced in parallel resulting in sentient machines with magical abilities. Now employed by the military Akabane Raishin and his partner Yaya are attending The Royal Academy to sharpen their skills as soldiers but due to his abysmal test scores he has all but discounted as a serious competitor, now Akbane must prove himself by sheer combat ability against the deadliest of his classmates.

Thoughts: Interesting setting with a good plot so far, will be watching this one closely.

Proes: A nice art style complements this interesting story line so far.

Cons: Vary young as manga go so I will need to hold my judgement for now.

-Notes: Keeping an eye on this one.

8/10          (What is it with those Japanese and making robots hot?)

A Fairy Tail for the Demon Lord

Type: Manga

Status: Ongoing

Premise: There once was a princess who fell victim to a curse. She was imprisoned by a demon who slew all who would approach her and never allowed her to speak to another living soul save for him. Countless knights challenged the demon in order to save the princess; nobles looking for her hand in marriage, paladins on holly crusades, fighters of unimaginable skill looking for a worthy opponent to test their abilities and gods angered by the demons arrogance, but all were slain by the demon. Finally an knight without a name arrived on the battlefield, this man without a soul who was created by the king to die for his master was offered freedom and a name should he be able to save the princess. This unknown man who was devoid of everything slew the demon and saved the princess and now our story begins anew.

Thoughts: This one is intriguing. Cyberpunk norse mythology in a high fantasy setting..... how many times have you heard that before? To go along with this unorthodox setting we are being introduced to characters who are evolving right in front of our eyes as we read, we start with a blank canvas in our main character and build him as the story unfolds.

Prose: Lovely artwork in a rough sketch like style as well as full color, you tend to forget how much color helps with the reading after so long without it in the manga world and this book makes great use of it to highlight and reinforce ideas.

Cons: This manga is just starting out and there are only a limited number of chapters out at the moment. Also the plot is slow to develop the ominous hints that are being dropped in the early sections of the story, so we will see how the story develops as more volumes are released.

-Notes: Early to start this one at the moment, give it a while. I can't stress enough how lovely the full color is in this one.

8/10          (Slaying the immortal, were gods and men have failed.)

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

Type: Anime

Status: Ongoing

Premise: 3 years after the terrorist attack that destroyed humanities first space based colony, Banagher Link a normal boy living in a space colony under construction with aspirations to do something with his life saves a young girl after she falls. Now on the run from both the military and terrorist groups he is forced to pilot a strange prototype mobile suit in hope that the mysterious information known as "Laplace's Box" hidden within it can stop the brewing conflict.

Thoughts: Filmed in the 50 minute mini movie format this is a treat to watch. As we have come to expect from the Gundam franchise this anime has stunning visual effects and music. The release schedule for this title is agonizingly slow and will only contain 6 episodes for the entire series, which makes me wonder as to how well this anime will be able to explore the world that they have created for the series.

Prose: Stunning visual effects and audio; we have come to expect a high level of quality from the Mobile Suit Gundam (Insert interesting tag word here) franchises and Unicorn does not disappoint.

Cons: The plot is rather uninspired and rushed at times making me wonder why they have decided to limit themselves to only 6 episodes. The Gundam franchise has been around for a long time so the plot lines are starting to become predictable.

-Notes: Dubbed. At the time of me writing this there are only 3 episodes released after starting in March 2010, with a new episode being released every 6 months. The release schedule is abhorrently slow so get comfy.

     
7.5/10          (Is it bad that the main machine is the one I like the least?)

Strike Witches

Type: Anime

Status: Complete (12 episodes)

Premise: Hitler is dead; killed in one of the first attacks by the Neuroi. These mysterious aliens have come to earth and begun systematically annihilating the human race and the combined military might of the planet is pushed to the breaking point, this is the second world war. But all is not lost, scientists have perfected the magic engine which allowed people that poses magical ability to combat the Neuroi threat; these young girls from across the globe have formed the 501st Joint Fighter Wing an elite air command charged with the annihilation of the invading Neuroi. Together they are the first and best line of defense that humanity has to offer, they are The Strike Witches.

Thoughts: This was an odd one. Between the anthropomorphous teenage girls fighter planes and the rampant flashing of animated undergarments you end up thinking that the main plot is of secondary importance most of the time. I give this story great praise for its originality and interesting use of timeline but the plot leaves something to be desired.

Proes: Interesting ideas in this story, between the Neuroi, magic, fighter planes and many different themes you will enjoy the setting for its nostalgic yet original ideas.

Cons: The plot is..... unimportant. The writers wanted to show off their idea of anthropomorphous girls and the undergarments that followed, but had a hard time coordinating it with any meaningful plot development.

-Notes: Fully dubbed. Each of the main witches is actually representing one of their countries ace fighter pilots from WW2 along with their striker units design reflecting the fighter that they became legends in.

7.5/10          (And not one of the main characters wares pants....)

Corpse Princess

Type: Anime

Status: Complete ( 26 Episodes)

Premise: When a human dies filled with regret and strong obsession they may not remain dead. Shikabane are near immortal monster born from these negative emotions and are driven to murder an destroy to fill the void that these desires leave them with, but some Shikabane whose desires can be controlled fight against these monsters along with their bonded monks. These young women will fight for a chance at eternal peace one enemy at a time, they are Shikabane Hime.

Thoughts: This anime was compelling as it slowly developed its dark and twisted story-line, the characters loved and lost with equal measure as the plot twisted and turned. The action sequences are completely over the top and laugh in the face of physics but are a spectacle to behold. A dark drama dealing with obsession and desire. 

Pros: Deep character development really brings you into the twisted world of the Shikabane and tells a story that will have you in the palm of your hand from beginning to end.

Cons: This is a high violence, bloodshed and twisted piece of work so be prepared for a mature viewing experience.

-Notes: Fully dubbed.

8.5/10          (I can count the number of times she reloads on my fingers...)