Full Metal Alchemist was and very much still is THE big thing in anime circles. The next big thing could be Death Note, or Black Lagoon, but in the UK market, it’s currently FMA, all the way. Two things worried me while writing this review. Firstly, how to review the big thing in anime when so much has been written already? Secondly, how to do this without sounding like a drooling fanboy? Therefore, I’ve tried to write this review so it could be read after the dust has settled or after the backlash, when its impact on the fanbase and the medium can be judged. Is it another Evangelion? A excellent but mentally scaring flawed classic? Or do we have another Trigun, a popular but not brilliant anime? I’ve tried to answer these questions.
Mushishi shows its origins as a manga / anime clearly, and for me this is where its strengths and its weaknesses lie. Its strengths? It's visually appealing in both its portrayal of the natural world and its stylised elements. Its weaknesses? It has trouble adjusting to its new format. More about that below.
The internet is a funny, fickle thing. While this anime was airing in Japan, the mecha websites were overflowing with praise. But after it finished, the predicatable happened, a vocal minority appeared to pick it apart. But which viewpoint is true? This is an anime made by Gainax, a company known for doing big things with mecha, but also for messing with its viewers and mercilessly milking its cash cow, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Gurren Lagann is however as about as far away from Evangelion as you can get. Is it worthy of the hype? Read on to find out.
Well being here in Hong Kong has left me with a lot of spare time, so when I’m not working or out at the local bars and arcadias with my friends I tend to spend a lot of time on my consoles (not that different from how I was in the U.K actually). That’s why I have decided to start reviewing the games I have been playing as a way to at least contribute something to the site, so onto the first game I will be reviewing Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann on the Nintendo DS....
I have a love/hate relationship with romantic comedies. In anime they tend to be a bit off the wall, go on for ages, and often don’t resolve the relationship. Kasimasi however interested me. Shorter OVAs do tend to resolve themselves, and the concept seemed pure brilliance. Who could not be intrigued by a romance where all involved are female, and where one used to be male? How could that fail to entertain? Read on to find out how.
The animes we show at the club, and the votes which decide them, tend to fall into patterns. After having seen the lightweight but fun series Fate Stay Night, the club selected for the other extreme, the intellectual and deep Ergo Proxy. Was it a better choice? Read on.
The Second Barrage is not so much a sequel, as a second season. The episodes are numbered from thirteen, implying a direct continuation from the original. But is it as good as the first series? Has the energy been kept? Has it grown a brain? Read on.