Attack on Titan [Anime Review]

Attack on Titan, or Shingeki no Kyojin (進撃の巨人 - literally 'Advancing Giants') does not sound like a very good anime at all. The first time I heard the name I had terrifying flashbacks to the regrettable animated film Titan A.E. which does not evoke a sense of quality drama. 

Ok. See now this already looks better than Titan A.E.

However a friend convinced me to try an episode.




Blown. Away. 

The introduction episode was more than I ever expected. I was hooked.

Killroy was here.

I have watched every episode currently subtitled, well all those I don't have to sign up to see. I wait weekly to see the next episode (the previous weeks episode).

It is a very engrossing story. You become entangled quickly in both the characters and the mysteries.


However, lets do the usual, a quick introduction to the show.

The mid episode bumpers have world details.

Humanity is a cowed race. It lives behind three massive concentric walls that are about ten meters thick and fifty meters tall. The outer most wall, Wall Maria, the middle wall, Wall Rose, and the smallest and most inner wall, Wall Sina, surround all of humanity that still lives.

Oh come on...

A salute. It's a bit odd, but makes sense.

Outside the wall are the Titans. Giants standing up to fifteen meters in height who prey upon humans. They are almost completely immune to human weapons, even cannon shells that rip open the Titan's skulls do little more than slow them. They regenerate at an amazing rate.

The year is 845 and humanity has cowered behind the great walls for nearly a millennium. Humanity has begun to grow complacent, secure in the safety of their walls.

Small bands of humans, the Survey Corps, explore beyond the wall. They are responsible for studying the Titans, however to the public they simply waste lives and taxes.

Young Eren Yeager (one of our protagonists) wants to become a member of the Survey Corps because they are the only humans to have left the wall in a very long time. This of course is against the wishes of his parents and adopted sister Mikasa Akerman (another protagonist).

It's Grizzly Adams the Titan!

One day they are hanging out with their friend Armin Arlert when their entire world changes. A new Titan, a Colossal Titan standing over fifty meters appears in a flash of flame and light. It kicks in one of the great gates on the Shinganshina district of the Wall Maria. The Shinganshina is a outer bulge on the wall, protecting the main gate of the Wall Maria.

Titan's flood in. People die. An armored Titan smashes through the gate inside Shinganshina breaching Wall Maria. The Wall is breached... Everything changes.

This show might kill more characters than GRRM.

Enough.

That's the quick summary of the events that occur in the first episode or two. I've left out a lot on purpose.

I have been utterly flabbergasted by this series. The twists and turns are fantastic, the characters very well crafted both visually and via personality.

Mikasa using 3D Maneuver gear.

You never know exactly where the story will go next, what turn it will take, but you know it will be good.

I see what you did there. I still don't care.

Visually, while sometimes the animation is a bit simplistic, it is absolutely gorgeous. I get swept up in the motion and the fluidity of scenes, pulled along with the characters on the 3D maneuver gear. And I even like the mid-episode bumpers (shown above). They remind me of the art style at the beginning of the Dragon Age games. It's not absolutely the same, but it has the same feel.

And the music.
My recent anime selections have all had such wonderful music. Something quite amazing as far as I'm concerned. Even Elfen Lied (which I panned) had quite good intro music. The same goes for Attack on Titan. The intro song is amazing... the ending songs, not so much. Attack on Titan leads with the best song forward one might say.

This series is absolutely outstanding. I highly recommend it. You can go watch it for free (or sign up and watch it in higher quality) at Crunchy Roll, right now. So... what are you waiting for? Oh yeah, my final review score:

5.0 Stars.

I'm going out on a very sturdy limb here. I'm honestly not sure I've watched another anime I have enjoyed as thoroughly. There have been some very very very close contenders. But this one is just astounding. I am eagerly awaiting the eventual Blu-ray. Is it perfect? No. Is it about as close as it gets, yeah. That's why it gets the full five. I cannot recommend this series enough. Now, stop reading, go watch it!

Guilty Crown [Anime Review]

Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose

To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude;
And in the calmest and most stillest night,
With all appliances and means to boot,
Deny it to a king? Then, happy low, lie down!
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. 

- Henry IV, part II. Act III, scene 1.

Welcome to Funeral Parlor.

Guilty Crown is a story about leadership, about responsibility, and sacrifice. It is a magnificent tale told across two seasons. It is beautifully animated, some of the best I've seen, and the beauty adds to the poignant tragedy that is Guilty Crown.

Funeral Parlor's main males, and a mecha.

However, before we go any further let me give a quick synopsis.

In the year 2022 an asteroid impacted Japan. From it came a new virus, the (badly) named Apocalypse Virus. On December 24, 2029, an event occurred that spread the infection across Japan instantaneously. The Japanese government was thrown in to absolute and utter chaos. Unable to respond to the crisis a UN sponsored NGO, the GHQ, steps in and in a short amount of time brings the virus under control. GHQ takes control of Japan.

Worst chat-up line ever.

The year is 2039, Japan, specifically Tokyo, is controlled by GHQ and their Anti-bodies squads. They patrol, seek the virus, and eliminate it. However there are those who oppose GHQ.

The year is 2039, Shu Ouma is a normal high school student. Well almost normal. He lives inside his own head far too much, questioning everything around him. He even wonders if he has any friends or if the guys he hangs out with just hang out with him because they have nothing better to do and he doesn't get in their way. He is a coward, frightened easily, and takes no risks.

Cat's Cradle.

He spends his time making music videos to the music of EGOIST.

Then one day he finds the lead singer of EGOIST, Inori, a cute pink-haired girl his age, injured in the run down building where he does his video editing. She is taken by anti-bodies right in front of him. He doesn't lift a finger... and he hates himself for it.

Also Ayase. The Enlave (mecha) pilot.

Ayase, a disabled girl. Pretty cute.

Inori from EGOIST.

That's it. That is the synopsis for now. That little snippet gets through about half the first episode.
 
This is a powerful series.

It begins slowly, building up over the course of many episodes. Story elements are constantly revealed, explained, and built into the grand tapestry.

I was constantly on the edge of my chair in suspense, wondering what will occur next, how that character will react, what the hell that new thing is. The show is filled with questions. 

But there is a lot more to it than simply the questions and wonderful animation that make Guilty Crown so awesome.

This is NOT what it looks like.

I have nothing funny or witty to say about this.

The whole series is actually a massive morality tale. A tragedy written along the same lines as Henry IV (parts I and II). There are many parallels.



The importance and responsibility of one person's actions are shown as well as the the importance and responsibility of the actions taken by leaders, rulers, and more.

Infighting inside of various groups, backstabbing, political intrigue. Guilty Crown has all of this, plus strange science and powerful characters. There is loss of life and loss of self. Madness and sadness. Love and hate and life and death and suffering. 

An underground garden, a place of peace, a place for a king to rest his head.

I highly recommend this series. It may not be the best of the best, but it is right up there. The music is utterly astounding, I even enjoy the fan covers redone in English (not a part of the BD, jsut something I stumbled across).

Here, listen to Euterpe. This is a song that gets interspersed through the series, sung by Inori. Or here, try the intro music: My Dearest. If you want to try the English fan covers, here is Eutrepe in English. Let me know what you think.

If you watch this series, you have to actually watch the intro credits and ending credits. They change. The intro credits are really hard to catch and only start changing around ep6. Prepare to wear out the pause button on your remote.

So we're at last down to the final rating. I really enjoyed the series, and am very glad I picked up the two BD sets together. I think waiting to watch season two after season one (only 23 episodes all total) would have been tough. If you watch this, do not stop after season one. Make sure you watch it all the way through.

4.5 Stars

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia [Anime Review]

There are love stories.
There are love stories where the lovers stay together beyond the grave.
But there are very few love stories where the love is across the grave.
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is one of these.

Darkness and Light.

The story begins at Seikyou Private Academy where Teiichi Niiya is a member of the schools Paranormal investigation club.


Seikyou Private Academy is an old school. But when the school grew and expanded, instead of knocking down the old buildings, they just added on. Now hallways turn in odd directions or simply end abruptly. Rooms have been lost. Such an old school has its fair share of ghost stories, so it makes sense for there to be a Paranormal Investigations club.


The benefit for the Paranormal Investigations club is that they have a ghost president. A literal ghost president.

The episode bumpers are quite cute.

Yuko Kanoe, the ghost president is actually the subject of many stories that circulate in the school, but in truth she is a normal (save for the being dead part) high school girl in love. Of course her past is a mystery and she cannot remember any of it. But that does not bother her.

It bother's Teiichi, and he seeks to find what has been lost for many many years.

How to greet in Japan (anime-style): Open palm, apply to breast.

That's the short and simple introduction to the story.

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is a very good love story, mixed in with a touch of horror and a good dose of mystery, and just a touch of humor.

The story will span life and death. It will span decades and generations. It will delve into the light and the dark. It is a beautiful story. It is one of love, and one of loss. It is of seeking and finding and hiding.   

And the music. The music is excellent. I was shocked to see the Blu-ray came with 2 CD's but those are a welcome bonus. Listen.

I'm actually having trouble writing a long review because the story is so encompassing, and anything I might mention could be a spoiler. I really don't want to spoil anything. This is one worth seeing.

Dead or Alive, that's a look to speed up any man's heart.

So I'll have to make is short and sweet.


Tonikaku...


This is a really good love story. Is it as good Mysterious Girlfriend X? No... but really close. There are lots of stories were the love story is the side story, tacked on romances and the like. This is not one of those. The romance is central to the story, it is the real story.

4.0 Stars

A ghost dressed as a ghost, how surreal.

HOTD - High School of the Dead [Anime Review]