THE ANIME POST

[DevilMan]

Have you seen any anime recently? Liked it? Tell us what you thought about it. Post it here.

-Steve

[DevilMan]

http://cinemabizarre.blogspot.com/Burst%20Angel%20Anime%20DVD%2001.jpg

I picked up the first volume of the new series BURST ANGEL (aka Bakuretsu Tenshi meaning "Explosive Angel" in Japanese) and after watching the first two episodes, I thought it was pretty good. It's action packed with tons of violence (not alot of blood though) and it has that odd COWBOY BEBOP feel to it (maybe because of the music and the gunplay).

The story's set in the future where any kind of gun is legal to possess and they're abundant. As expected, the crime rate is high. Enter RAPT (Recent Armed Police of Tokyo), a group dedicated to restoring law and order. However, instead of capturing the bad guys, they usually end up killing them. Saves 'em all that paperwork, I guess.

RAPT consists of several asskicking chicks dressed in what looks like western styled bondage outfits. There's the never-say-die Jo, the main character (the white haired girl), the serious Sei (the group's leader), Meg (the airhead of the gang), and youngster Amy (the computer whiz). Thrown wide-eyed into their violent world is the possible male love interest and punching bag, Kyohei who's actually been hired as the new chef for this posse.

The girls mop up the criminals while never forgetting to lay down ALOT of bullets, not to mention inflicting major public property damage, in the process too. But when things start to get too dangerous, Jo jumps into her trusty cybot (a large humanoid fighting machine) called DJANGO (obviously inspired by the Italian western movie character of the same name) and it's all over for the bad guys.

BURST ANGEL is a 24-episode series created by STUDIO GONZO and utilizes traditional hand drawn animation for the characters combined with computer CGI for the robots and such. It's not APPLESEED quality, but it's still darn good for a regular tv show.

Overall, the show seems to have potential but hasn't made a move yet to stand out from all the other combat-mecha anime. And as with any lengthy television series, the characters might at first seem simple, one dimensional, and very bland but as the story unfolds, they're sure to be developed along the way. And speaking of BURST ANGEL's story, it's hard to guess the direction the show might go in from just the opening episodes but you can tell there's definitely something afoot concerning "experimental evolution of cyborg AI" (ala the transfigurement of EVANGELION's "EVA" units) and/or "a mysterious secret government organization up to no good" (again, like EVANGELION's "NERV" and "SEELE" groups), both of which are still patented can't-go-wrong anime plotlines. And of course, there's Jo, the white haired, red eyed femme fatale who's gotta have some kind of checkered past. I suppose we'll just have to see what happens as it goes on.

The new R1 DVD contains four episodes and they're presented in anamorphic widescreen with a Japanese language Dolby 5.1 soundtrack.

You can see a teaser trailer by clicking > HERE (http://media.funimation.com/trailers/burstangel/BurstFinal_Large.asx) <.

I do know one thing, if they ever make a live action movie based on this show, THE L WORD actress Katherine Moennig (who plays the punk rock Shane) would be perfect for the role of Jo.

-Steve

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by DevilMan@Jun 19 2005, 06:14 PM
Enter RAPT (Recent Armed Police of Tokyo), a group dedicated to restoring law and order.

RAPT consists of several asskicking chicks...
I watched some more of BURST ANGEL and as it turns out, our gaggle of girls don't actually work for the regular RAPT law enforcement unit, who are themselves only one step up from being a tyrannical oppressor of the civilian population. In fact, our gals are considered militant vigilantes by the RAPT. But in reality, our heroines are bounty hunters who are under the employment of a mysterious firm known as BAILAN. Whether or not, this organization funds them with their mechs, firearms, and computer equipment, it's still unclear.

-Steve

[Raven]

Picked Ghost in the Shell yesturday, havent watched it yet tho. Ive heard alot of good things about it

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by raven@Jun 24 2005, 11:21 AM
Picked Ghost in the Shell yesturday, havent watched it yet tho. Ive heard alot of good things about it
Was that the older movie, the newer movie, or the television series?

-Steve

[Raven]

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMVVIDEO/MANG2013.JPG

It was this one.

The year is 2029, the world is made borderless by the net; augmented humans who live in virtual environments. Watched over by law enforcement agents that are able to download themselves into super-powered, crime busting mecha. The ultimate secret agent of the future is not human, has no physical body and can travel freely through the information highways of the world. Hacking and manipulating whatever, whomever and whenever required...

[DevilMan]

http://cinemabizarre.blogspot.com/texhno%2001.jpg

I've been wanting to watch TEXHNOLYZE (pronounced "tech-no-lies") for some time now and I finally caught the first couple of episodes. And just as I expected from a series by Yoshitoshi Abe (creator of SERIAL EXPERIMENT LAIN and HAIBANE RENMEI), it's waaaaaay out there and you've really got to pay strict attention (especially in the first few episodes) to what's happening. I mean, sure, the show's all pretty to look at but sometimes it simply doesn't make alot of sense and you know that it's gonna take some time for the whole thing to come together. But that's not saying it's bad either. It just means that this isn't your average old anime series and hopefully it will offer much richer rewards to the viewer when it's all said and done.

Click > HERE (http://www.texhnolyzedvd.com/) < to go to the TEXHNOLYZE website.

TEXHNOLYZE starts off as we meet Ichise, an underground street fighter who lives in the so-called "Abandoned City of Lukuss", a city built beneath the surface of the Earth. Life is hard there as gangs, violence, and poverty rule the day. Well, our poor Ichise (a real winner in the fight circuit) manages to piss off some mob bigshots (it involved a woman, of course) and he ends up having his arm and leg sliced off. His fighting days are over, right? Nope. In Lukuss, the big thing to have is Texhnolyze but it's expensive and usually only available to those who are in the know. But what is it, you're wondering? Texhnolyze is a powerful cybernetic limb replacement process and our boy gets it.

The show seems pretty straight forward, doesn't it? Well, here's where it starts to get wonky. Aside from Ichise's plight, the story also focuses on Yoshii, a guy who has traveled from the surface world to Lukuss for some unknown reason. It appears he's looking for a strange young girl named Ran who can see into the future. She leads him to a group (called the Salvation Union) who's in direct opposition of the local crime organization headed by Onishi, their leader. So, I'd expect that since Ichise is now the "Six Million Dollar Man", he and Yoshii and Ran and the others are gonna go up against Onishi and his mob to make the city a better place to live in. Or destroy the whole thing. But then again, who knows. Remember, this is a Yoshitoshi Abe series after all.

TEXHNOLYZE is a 22 episode series and if you're familiar with Abe's previous work, the artwork and direction for this show is pretty much the same as the others. It's very realistic and often lacks alot of color. It's extremely moody and tends to be very low key and sometimes depressing. Needless to say, it's quite different than your usual feel good anime and this is probably why his stuff is so popular. It'll surely take some viewers alittle time to get used to the "feel" of the show.

For me, I suppose I'll have to just watch some more episodes before making my final judgement about TEXHNOLYZE because honestly, I really don't know if I like it yet or not.

-Steve

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by raven@Jun 26 2005, 02:12 PM
http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMVVIDEO/MANG2013.JPG
It was this one.
Ah, I see. That's the first movie. I thought it was pretty good but I often have such problems with MASAMUNE SHIROW's stuff. Simply put, his efforts are as follows... great artwork, great direction, but they contain disjointed, overly complicated, and often rushed storytelling. And the characters usually take a backseat to the mecha and cyberpunk aspects of the show.

Still though, on a strict eye-candy level, GITS is quite enjoyable even though it's about ten years old.

-Steve

[Raven]

Im trying to find The Lensman, i used to watch it loads when i was younger but cant find it anywhere now lol.

Whats Vampire Hunter D like

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by raven+Jun 26 2005, 02:29 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(raven @ Jun 26 2005, 02:29 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>Im trying to find The Lensman...[/b]
I used to own the VHS of it myself. I think I sold it off on eBay (along with my other anime tapes) when I started buying DVD's. It was a long movie but I remember really enjoying it back then.

But ya know, other than bootlegs, I don't think LENSMAN has ever been released on DVD. And I believe it was the first anime to feature CGI segments too.

<!--QuoteBegin-raven@Jun 26 2005, 02:29 PM
Whats Vampire Hunter D like[/quote]
In my opinion, the original VAMPIRE HUNTER D (from 1985) hasn't aged well over the years. In terms of art quality, it's pretty lackluster. The story though, is still good enough to carry it through. Or it's just my fond memories of liking it when it first came out that keeps me saying good things about it.

The second movie (from 2000) titled VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST is without a doubt, a drop dead gorgeous looking thing but the story isn't nearly as good as the first film. And the whole "vampire-rockets-to-Never-Never-Land" really ruined it for me.

Just my opinions because alot of people absolutely love the two movies. But it could just be the character of D that keeps them all savagely loyal to the series because I admit, he was/is quite cool.

-Steve

[Raven]

http://www3.hmv.co.uk/hmv/Large_Images/HMVVIDEO/MANG2012.JPG

Akira was the film that broke Japanese animation in the West, it opened up a lot of people to what was going on in Eastern cinema and showed that there was an alternative to what Hollywood was putting out. Uniquely Japanese, Akira is a tour-de-force, adapted from a mammoth comic book the story is fast and demands you keep up with it. Set in Neo-Tokyo, the Government is using children with telekinetic powers for secret experiments, one night a child escapes and crosses paths with a teenage biker gang. Kanedais the leader of the gang, his friend Tetsuo crashes into the child, who survives unscathed, though the crash causes Tetsuo to begin to develop powers of his own. As his powers develop they begin to take over his mind, causing him to go out of control; he begins to rampage across Tokyo, with the military and his friends trying to stop him. A stunning film with amazing animation and a classic pounding score, Akira is a milestone in cinema who's influence can still be felt today, not only in animation butalso in many, many, live action films.

Have you seen this DM?, is worth a watch?

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by raven@Jun 30 2005, 08:23 PM
Have you seen this DM?, is worth a watch?


AKIRA, that's an odd one to describe (for me anyway). It's certainly part of "Anime History" and yes, I quite enjoyed it the first time I saw it (well over a decade ago). I mean to tell ya, it's gorgeous artwork simply blew me away back then and that simple fact also clouded my judgement about the film. But after seeing plenty of other anime around that same time period, I soon realized that AKIRA sorta sucked because even though it did have glorious art, I felt the story was really lacking. I mean, just because it's "pretty", that doesn't really mean it's good. And I found lesser known shows with much simplier artwork usually had better stories. Basically, I feel AKIRA is overrated (even though many people still love it) and I think there's far better anime currently available now. But I will say it's a good starting point for people who want to experience anime from the beginning and see the historical groundbreakers.

-Steve

[Raven]

I really hope The Lensman does get a DVD release my VHS copy has seen better days, i still havent found any news about it yet but ill post it up if i do find anything

[Raven]

Thought i would bring this to your attention. HIGHLANDER THE ANIME this is a link to site with a trailer for it. Its not very long but i think it looks awesome

>>click<< (http://www.legendaryheroes.com/c.309960/site/Highlander/highlander.html)

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by raven@Jul 4 2005, 09:32 PM
Thought i would bring this to your attention. HIGHLANDER THE ANIME this is a link to site with a trailer for it. Its not very long but i think it looks awesome
>>click<< (http://www.legendaryheroes.com/c.309960/site/Highlander/highlander.html)
Quoted post

You're right, that does actually look pretty impressive.

I'm not sure what studio's doing it but the art style is definitely reminiscent of the older and supra popular NINJA SCROLL movie. Seen that one?

-Steve

[Raven]

no ive not seen that, ill give it a look see

[DevilMan]

http://cinemabizarre.blogspot.com/Gunslinger%20Girl%20Logo.jpg

Picked up the first volume of GUNSLINGER GIRL and started watching it. Think Leon The Professional meets La Femme Nikita if they were both animated.

http://cinemabizarre.blogspot.com/gunslinger%20anime%20pix%2001.jpg

GUNSLINGER GIRL stars Henrietta, a young pre-teen girl who is recently orphaned because her entire family were the victims of a serial murderer. Now, she has been "drafted" into a secret government organization (known to the outside world as a child wellfare agency) that physically alters their new children with cybernetic implants, erases their memories, and then brainwashes them into being the perfect assassins. Her "handler" Giuse (pronounced Jose, "JOE-SAY"), an older 20-something guy has the task of training her for the missions where they both work together in the field. These couples are called "fratello's" meaning brother and sister.

Of course, the handlers aren't supposed to become emotionally attached to their "cyborgs" but from just the first two episodes, it's obvious that Giuse and Henrietta are closer than what's normally permitted (and NOT in a sexual way, that would be pedophilia, it's more like a real brother and sister relationship). And even worse, Henrietta freaks out Terminator style whenever Giuse is put in harm's way. Yet in the end, there is no denying there's this overwhelming feeling that something very bad is bound to happen to these two. I mean, someone even tells him "Say, Giuse, I know you're fond of this girl but treating a cyborg assassin as a normal girl will only lead to unhappiness." and that pretty much sums it up right there.

The other major players in this unsavory organization include Rico (the expert sniper) and her handler, Jean (Guise's brother) who unfortunately treats Rico as nothing but a pawn to be used and disposed of later. We've also got Triela (the oldest girl in the group and Henrietta's closest friend) and her strict handler, Hirscher who wants to treat Triela nice but just can't sometimes. And lastly, there's the two girls, Claes and Angelica who don't currently have handlers.

As you'd expect from the first few episodes of any series, it's all about setting things up. We're shown the girls' extra-human abilities during their missions. We get to see their behavior patterns and their relationships with their handlers, and also each other. But as I said before, there's definitely something that makes you feel uneasy floating in the air and I have that bad feeling that it's gonna go south for our cadre of little girl assassins. Time will tell.

http://cinemabizarre.blogspot.com/gunslinger%20anime%20pix%2002.jpg

GUNSLINGER GIRL is a 13 episode mini-series from MadHouse Productions (of Sakura Wars and Gungrave fame). The first DVD contains the first five episodes ( ! ) and they are presented in 16x9 widescreen with a Japanese Pro-Logic Stereo soundtrack. There's an English Dolby 5.1 track included too but who the hell wants to hear that.

The character animation is rather simplistic but the weapons (ie: the various firearms used by the girls) are supra-realistic and extremely technical. The many gun fights and bullet showers are impressive and the animated blood spurts from every wound they form on the bad guy's bodies. The story is quite somber and often depressing but what can you expect from a show that displays the exploitation of young girls who have suffered terrible emotional trauma and have been conditioned to be assassins by an uncaring government.

Check out the website with a trailer...

>>> GUNSLINGER GIRL (http://www.gunslingergirl.tv/) <<<

-Steve

[Raven]

Bump

Any more cool animes to be looking out for DM, i dont trust my own judement lol

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by raven@Jul 30 2005, 12:19 AM
Any more cool animes to be looking out for DM, i dont trust my own judement lol
Quoted post

Now this new series sounds very interesting.

-SAMURAI 7-

http://cinemabizarre.blogspot.com/Samurai%207%20Logo.jpg

Based on Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai. Samurai 7 is being produced in High Definition at a price of $300 000 per episode, more than twice what an average non-hi-def series costs. Samurai 7 is a futuristic remake of Akira Kurosawa's world renowned 1954 film, Seven Samurai, and is being produced with a target audience of 12 to 40 in mind, with an emphasis on older teenagers.
Check out the Japanese website...

>>> SAMURAI 7 DOT COM (http://www.samurai-7.com/) <<<

-Steve

[dracul]

That actually doesn't sound too bad, and the site was interesting. I'm normally not too enthused about retelling any classic stories, but I might give this a shot.