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Name: Stretch Email: stretch2424@yahoo.com Url: What's a URL? I'm not too Computer-Savvy. Reviews: 930 Posts: 1045 |
(Revised April 2013) Maybe I've become jaded, maybe I'm just demanding higher standards from the stuff I watch. I think my reviews have gotten more and more like those of the professionals at ANN and elsewhere, in that I have little patience nowadays for trashy shows. At one time I would've been a staunch defender of fanservice-heavy shows and wondered what kind of problem the professional reviewers had when they put them down. Perhaps everybody tends to go through a set of stages from their original introduction to anime to where they are five or ten years later. Early on, every new show you discover is liable to seem the best one you've seen yet; years later you can't believe how heavily you praised shows which seem like absolute garbage nowadays. Perhaps it's nothing more than a matter of as you see more and more different shows you gain a wider perspective on what quality exists and where. If I don't know that anything better than, say, Hyperdolls exists, I'm liable to declare it the greatest work of all time. In a way I miss the naivete I had back as a beginner, because it was easier to enjoy myself and discover new things. In another way I'm appalled at the crapola I was wasting my time on. Well, I have a saying: "you can't claim to be an expert if you only watch the good shows!".
Why do I like anime? Because it's different, I suppose. I'm frustrated by concepts like "political correctness" which have the effect of turning out a steaming load of patronizing, uninteresting drek that passes as entertainment here in the US. As a result I have tended to tune out of the American media. In contrast, I had no idea that the vibrant, uninhibited world of anime existed until I stumbled upon Cartoon Network's Saturday night Adult Swim while channel-surfing (unless you count watching "Speed Racer" as a kid, that is). My fascination with anime has gotten to the point where about the only American-made TV I still watch is "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" (and Major League Baseball). Some critics bemoan the naughty elements of anime which keep it from "going mainstream" in America; personally, I think that removing these would be an absolute catastrophe, which would demolish it's uniqueness and vibrancy. The best thing about anime is that it isn't American, it's from a completely different culture. Being as frustrated with the state of affairs in this country as I am, an opportunity to immerse myself in the fascinating media of another country is a blessing.
At some point I decided that Anime was so much fun that I should not just watch it, but write about it--that is, review shows. I've never taken any sort of class in writing, animation, or reviewing, but it just seemed that I wouldn't be getting all I could out of the experience of anime watching unless I put my thoughts into words as well. Or maybe I'm just trying to show off.
When it comes to anime, early on I was a hard person to disappoint--I thought almost anything was worth a watch, and I only assigned a handful of "Avoid" ratings, so you might want to take my older reviews with a grain of salt. The older the review, the less reliable my rating might be. I'm not too comfortable with assigning numbers to plot, music, animation, etc, since I haven't got enough concentration to keep track of so many different aspects without my overall enjoyment of a show taking a hit. I prefer to come up with an opinion of the show in general, and explain why I reached it in my review. I'm better at writing than assigning numbers.
Using categories like "Buy", "Rent" and "Watch" is tricky because the same amount of money means different things to different people. I am relatively poor at the moment and a show would have to be pretty damn good to justify a Buy rating from me. Also, there's the variable of how many different shows are competing for your viewing time--do you have a backlog of as yet unwatched anime? From my perspective, I would say that more shows belong in the Watch category than in all other categories combined. So, a show could be pretty good yet land only a Watch review from me--a "Watch+". I would say that the chief attribute of a Buy category show would be rewatchability. It must be good enough to be worth watching numerous times, even when there are plenty of other shows competing for one's time.
I'd like to express my thanks to fellow Mikomi members for the help I've been offered with all sorts of topics, ranging from renting DVDs by mail, to recording anime music, to fixing computer problems, to downloading fansubs, to saving screen images, etc, etc. I routinely do things nowadays which seemed like fantastic fairy tales ten years ago. It's all the more surprising considering how little I knew about computers, the internet and DVDs when I first became interested in anime. "What's the deal with these newfangled DVDs?" I used to ask myself. "I think VHS tapes are perfectly satisfactory!"
My insatiable quest for my "anime fix" seems to have gone through a number of stages:
1. I'm limited to whatever is shown on Adult Swim--Cowboy Bebop, Yu Yu Hakusho, Outlaw Star, Tenchi Muyo, etc. Despite the limited choices, I cannot wait to get home from work on Saturday nights for three hours of anime paradise.
2. I find used VHS tapes can be bought at a not too faraway hobby shop. I feel an odd nostalgia for searching through rows of tapes which I know nothing about, and basing my choices on what the jackets had to say, and the minutes each tape would run. Shows like Bubblegum Crisis, Key The Metal Idol, and Irresponsible Captain Tylor come to mind.
3. I learn about shopping online at Amazon.com, E-bay, and other websites. With the benefit of hindsight, I realize that the first few years of this decade were a most fortunate time to become involved in anime. As DVDs supplanted VHS tapes, the once obscenely expensive tapes could be gotten for a fraction of their original price--I bought a number of them for 99 cents (plus a dollar postage) each!
4. I'm informed by a fellow Mikomi reviewer that the titles which are still quite expensive can be rented via the internet as well! More than once I've rented shows which I liked so much that I bought my own copies.
5. Again, a fellow Mikomi reviewer tips me off to the wonderous world of BitTorrent fansub downloading. Whereas once I made a habit of watching at least one rerun for every new episode, lest I run out of the fresh material too quickly, now I'm virtually drowning in anime (I'm not complaining, though). I've reached a state in which the bulk of my TV time is spent watching incomplete series that are currently running in Japan. For some reason this seems to me like the most vibrant, exciting way to watch anime—virtually the same way the Japanese are doing it!
I've made a habit of keeping a log of the shows I watch each day. Since I like to watch just a single episode of each series per day, it helps keep track of which one I need next. I used to sometimes strive to watch as many different shows as possible in a single "anime marathon"--fourteen is my current record--and this enabled me to keep track. Nowadays, I have less time to spare, so that record will probably stand.
Subs vs Dubs: My initial impression was that surely dubs would be preferable, since I couldn't fully enjoy the animation if my eyes are going to be tied up speed-reading subtitles. However, I gradually realized it wasn't so simple. There's another factor in play, a potentially dark, nefarious phenomena called "localization". In short, when anime is localized, the translators take liberties to make it easier for westerners to understand. That's not necessarily bad, a certain amount of localization (translation, for instance) is needed. The problem comes when the people working on the R1 release decide that they can improve the script by diluting or deleting exotic cultural references which would surely leave English-speaking viewers scratching their heads anyway. But I think the tidbits of knowledge I gain about Japanese culture are half the fun of anime (and we westerners aren't all that dim after all). My impression is that the anime which is most tempting to localize is that which is set in the present day--perhaps because neither the past (Japanese history) nor the future (science fiction) can be directly matched to any western experience. I think fansubs tend to do a much better job of avoiding excessive localization (and providing intriguing notes to explain just what's going on).
After giving the topic some thought, here are some favorites of mine (in no particular order). These are shows which have stood the test of time, which I have (or will) rewatch numerous times:
1. Bakuman, Bakuman 2, and Bakuman 3--probably my all-time favorite anime series. The wide variety of characters were fun and likeable, the jokes were good, and the look into the world of the mangakka was fascinating. This long series finally coming to an end has left a vacuum within me.
2. Orguss 02--without a doubt, my favorite mecha show, with neat characters, plentiful action, a sophisticated, intriguing, mysterious plot, and a pleasing conclusion.
3. PaniPoni Dash!--a crazy show chock-full of anime in-jokes, with different forms of comedy on multiple levels; it has been described as "Azumanga Daioh meets Excel Saga". Perhaps I like it because it's a challenge to understand it—a challenge I have yet to fully meet.
4. G-on Riders--a crazy show which many would scoff at but which pushed all the right buttons for me. Planet Earth is threatened—by small children?
5. Tattoon Master--somehow, this little known show seems to be loaded with unrecognized quality and seems to get better every time I rewatch it.
6. Mahoromatic and it's sequel Mahoromatic: Motto Utsukushii Mono--Likeable characters, a strange but believable plot (with a clever twist at the end) and fanservice too! I've rewatched it several times.
7. Mahou Tsukai Tai!--a brilliant, virtually flawless OVA series, with well balanced comedy, mystery, and best of all, originality. The TV series sequel isn't nearly as good, though.
8. City Hunter and it's recent reincarnation, Angel Heart--the chemistry between main characters Ryo and Kaori in the original is frequently hilarious, while Angel Heart takes the action element more seriously and delivers a well-rounded action/adventure series.
9. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu--The world just might be a figment of the imagination of your strange female high school classmate? A highly original show, and Kyon's deadpan sarcastic wit is killer.
I'm sure I have missed some shows which ought to be on this list.
Oh yeah, I got the nickname "Stretch" because I'm 6'6" tall.
| Release Year | |||||||
| 2013(2) | 2012(1) | 2011(5) | 2010(2) | 2009(5) | 2008(3) | 2007(9) | 2006(3) |
| 2005(4) | 2004(10) | 2003(4) | 2002(5) | 2001(3) | 2000(4) | 1999(3) | 1998(1) |
| 1997(2) | 1996(3) | 1995(4) | 1993(2) | 1992(4) | 1991(4) | 1990(2) | 1989(3) |
| 1988(3) | 1987(5) | 1986(1) | 1974(1) | 1973(1) | |||
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| Title | Rating | Synopsis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | |||
| 2x2 = Shinobuden | Rent | See Ninin ga Shinobuden | |
| 2X2 = The Legend of Shinobu, | Rent | See Ninin ga Shinobuden | |
| A | |||
 Abenobashi Mahou Shotengai |
Buy |
Sasshi is having a bad summer vacation. First, his old house is demolished in the recent Abenobashi Shopping district redevelopment plan , and his best friend, Ayumi, is moving away to Hokkaido. Investigating, the duo find that the Abenobashi district is constructed as a cross with a different animal guarding each pole in the market. Unfortunately, with Ayumi's family leaving, the last guardian will fall and something terrible may happen to Abenobashi. |
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 AIKa R-16 |
Watch | Aika is a smart and athletic high school girl. She is so competent that she successfully passes the salvager’s license test, obtaining a C-class license. Yet, she is young and hotheaded, so much so that Gota still treats her as a child. Due to this personality, no one is willing to hire her for salvaging jobs. | |
| AIKA R-16: Virgin Mission | Watch | See AIKa R-16 | |
| AIKa R-16：处女任务 | Watch | See AIKa R-16 | |
 Akikan! |
Rent |
Akikan! (”Empty Can”) is the unlikely story of high school boy Kakeru Daichi, whose can of melon juice soda magically transforms into a human girl. Naturally, more "Akikan" girls begin appearing, each of them needing to be infused with carbon dioxide from kissing to survive. |
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| Ashita no Yoichi! | Watch | See Asu no Yoichi! | |
 Assemble Insert |
Rent | The police are powerless against "Demon Seed", a criminal gang which employs hi-tech armored battle suits. What's more, the collateral damage that results from the futile attempts to stop the bandits has made the police increasingly unpopular. Chief Hattori of the "Counter Demon Seed Special Agent Headquarters" comes up with a bizarre solution: hold special "Hero Auditions" in hope of finding someone who is both capable of stopping Demon Seed and popular enough that the public will forgive whatever damage occurs in the process! The adorably cute and incredibly strong Maron Namikaze seems to be just the girl Hattori has been looking for. "A super idol who can sing, dance, and fight crime will soon be born!" | |
| Astro Fighter Sunred | Rent | See Tentai Senshi Sunred | |
 Asu no Yoichi! |
Watch |
Having been raised and trained for the past sixteen years as a traditional samurai 'bushi', Yoichi was surprised when his father suddenly announces that there nothing more that he could teach his son, but he arranges for Yoichi to continue training at a dojo owned by one of their relatives. So now Yoichi must leave the tranquility of his remote rural mountain life and move to the city to live with his uncle's family to continue his studies. And if learning how to cope with city life were not hard enough, he finds himself living with 4 beautiful sisters and having to endure a ‘training’ regiment more severe than he could ever imagine..... |
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| B | |||
 Bakuretsu Hunters OVA |
Rent |
On the "Spooner Continent", a valiant group of Sorcerer Hunters are the people's last line of defense against the evil dark magiks unleashed periodically by those who can't control it. Saving the world and looking sexy while doing it! |
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 Bakuretsu Hunters TV |
Buy |
In a distant and magical place, on the 'Spooner Continent', there are a group of people who can use magic and are called Sorcerers (They have a little triangle on their foreheads). These sorcerers rule over the Common people (or Parsoners) with an absolute fist. But when they get out of line, there exists a dedicated group of Sorcerer Hunters who will chase them down and bring them into line. One of these groups is a dessert-tray of dedicated soldiers - Marron Glace, Chocolate Misu, Carrot Glace, Tira Misu, and Gateau Mocha. |
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| Bastard! Destroyer of Darkness | Rent | See Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakai Kami | |
 Bastard!! Ankoku no Hakai Kami |
Rent |
Dark Schneider was the most powerful sorcerer of all time. Now he lies dormant in a young boy, waiting to be awakened by the kiss of a virgin. |
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