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]

Elfen Lied - A Dusty Shelf Review [Anime Review]

I buy & watch a significant amount of anime. The result is that sometimes a series gets missed, overlooked, or lost in time, and ends up sitting on a shelf for months or even years before I watch it. But rest assured, I will watch it.

So I've decided to create a new review segment I'm going to call the Dusty Shelf Review. All of these reviews will be for series I've left too long.

Gore in the beginning. Gore at the end.

The first Dusty Shelf Review: Elfen Lied.

There are not a lot of anime that I actually regret buying. This is one. I had to wrack my brain to find an element I liked. It's not like the animation is bad - it's acceptable. Neither stellar nor terrible.

I will give a warning now, because I expect to reveal more spoilers in this review than in any other I have ever written.

 Be Warned: There Will Be Spoilers!

Innocence?

The story:

A new subspecies of humans has evolved(?) on earth. Their only motivation - the complete and total elimination of all humans. This is preferably done in the most bloody and gory ways possible. Ripping heads and limbs off is common place, and seems to be a theme in every episode.

Lucy, one of these new subspecies (Diclonius) escapes a locked chamber in a remote lab that is studying the Diclonius. She murders dozens (hundreds?) of guards, and escapes. However in the course of the escape a single bullet (fired from an A.T. rifle) actually hits her, causing her to develop a split personality. Now she is wandering around naked on a beach. She is found and taken in by a college student named Kouta.

Kouta has just returned to town after 8 years in order to attend college, and has his own place (which will promptly be filled with Lucy, his cousin Yuka, and a few others).

A strange boarding house... to say the least.

Now Lucy has the mind of a child. She is unable to speak or anything. Kouta names her Nyu, after the only sound she makes.

Meanwhile the lab dispatches an immoral mercenary to kill Lucy.

Nyu (Lucy) breaks a treasured memento of Kouta's (from his past, that he has blocked because it is tramatic) and he yells at her. She runs from the house to find a replacement.

A battle between Lucy and the mercenary occurs, he is badly maimed. This prompts the remote lab to dispatch a second Diclonius, Nana (#7), to deal with Lucy.

Messier than a Jackson Polluck painting.

I'm going to skip a few details. Why? Because I want to get to the real messed up bits.

Okay so we know that Lucy is a Diclonius whose sole goal is to wipe out the human species and replace it as the new dominant species.

Or is she? You see this is the assumption of the remote lab's scientists. Most of whom are only scientists in that they wear lab coats. They are super stereotypical mad scientists who seem to be suffering from Immortality Immorality.

However we learn that in fact Lucy is an abused orphan who watched a dog get murdered, literally beaten to death by children right in front of her. They quite literally Kick The Dog, and it is a sign of a series that is just giving up. In addition, Lucy is unable to trust others because one of the children, whom she thought she could trust, lied to her. This lie directly led to the puppies death. Of course, then she slaughters every child in revenge for the dog. After that she proceeds to slaughters whole families in order to squat in their houses... so she goes from revenge murder to complete psycho in about three heartbeats.

I have a rule of entertainment - Never Kill the Dog (goes double for cats). Killing the dog is a way to throw up your hands and just admit you are a bad movie/series/book/game, you get the picture.

Super Spoiler: Your Traumatic past is a plot contrivance!

Of course she is befriended by young Kouta. Emotional pablum occurs. They become friends, and a bit of puppy love occurs. An insane voice tells Lucy to kill everyone, and she promptly strangles Kouta (not to death, just close). But no worries, all is forgiven because, to put it bluntly, Kouta is far from the sharpest knife in the drawer. All seems fine, but then Kouta says that he is going to a festival with his cousin. He lies and says his cousin is a boy (Yuka is a girl, just FYI). Lucy catches them at the festival and, since she feels betrayed, murders everyone nearby.

It's one of the few semi-likable characters. She has character development!

So... Is she a traumatized psychopath? Is she a new species whose only drive is genocide? Don't worry, this will NEVER be answered.


But we will pile trauma on top of trauma. Seriously. He is an aside in the story: Young girl is raped by her step-father. Tells her mother. Her mother beats her for lying. She runs away. Look! Trauma.




But that's not all... seriously. This whole series is nothing more than gore and trauma, interspersed with a touch of nudity, and jealousy.  I actually had trouble watching it all the way through. I did, although my DVD set was so old that it didn't have the OVA and maybe that single episode answered all the questions. If so, Wow. Way to not end a series properly.

Klimt's "The Kiss" and a version with Lucy.

Okay. I never leave a review with only the bad.

There are some good things.

For one, the introduction's artwork is an excellent selection of the works of Gustav Klimt, modified with the shows characters. This very beautiful... and really has no bearing on any other part of the anime.

The second good thing is the Intro music. The song is called Lilium, and I've linked it to the intro video and the lyrics. The lyrics are based around a Gregorian chant called, "Ave Mundi Spes Maria." Music and a music box play an important role in the series. Which is too bad... you see in my research for the series (after the watching), there is a character focused around singing called Nozomi who only appears in the manga. even worse, she teaches Lucy the song called 'Elfen Lied' - yes the shows freakin' title! They cut this whole bit from the anime... why?

I think, perhaps, this is an anime that suffers very badly by becoming an anime. There might have been a strong story in the manga. There might not have been quite so much trauma for the sake of trauma. Characters might have grown, plots might have developed, and the gaping maw of a plot hole (Lucy's drive to destroy humanity - is it genetics or childhood trauma?) might have been closed.

Sadly, because this is an anime, I can only review the anime...

1.5 Stars

I cannot, in good taste, recommend this series...

If you must buy it, get it on BD. You'll get the OVA at least.

Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar [Anime Review]

Time and Eternity [PS3]

Today I'm going to be reviewing a recent PS3 release; Time and Eternity.

The animation is VERY nice.

The game centers around a trio of main characters and begins on their wedding day. No, there is no mistake there. You see, and this is really not a spoiler, two the characters reside in the same body (it actually makes for one of the better mechanics of the game). Their names are Toki (時) and Towa (東和)... I'll give you until after the next line to guess what those names mean.

  Give up?

Clowns with sickles? At a wedding? How deviant!

I hope not.
They mean Time and Eternity.
Yes.

Ok, well lets get things rolling with a slightly better synopsis than that. I won't go too deep as usual, but give a brief overview of the introduction to the game, then we'll talk about mechanics.

You are the mascot character!

Time and Eternity begins the day before you and Toki (redhead above, in the foreground) are to get married. She is the princess of the kingdom and you are but a knight sworn to defend it. You've already got a house together and her three friends are over. Things happen, mostly they raz on you. 

Get used to this view.

The next day you are 'going to the chapel, and you are going to get married.' Or so you think. You and Toki give your vows, and just when you are about the kiss the bride a gang of assassins show up and cut you down. Of course you threw yourself infront of your bride, but still, you took a blade right in the chest.

Great. Game over man!

Or not.

3D landscapes + Cell-shaded Animation? Ok!

You see your bride can manipulate time. Or perhaps I should say your bride is Time (時 Toki). In a fit of panic over you bleeding out, she sends herself back 6  months. You go back too as your spirit is yanked along.

She goes back and ends up as her self, 6 months before you are going to get married. You... you get jammed into the body of her pet dragon, and you can't speak.

Let the hilarity begin.

It's a JRPG. There is a gallery. Unlock it!

 Time and Eternity is actually a pretty simple game when it comes down to it. I mean overly simple at times.

Skill Tree Example.

The game is super simple. You are given a quest, you complete it. Along the way there are monsters. Some quests are irritating, most are easy. Complete the quest get money and GP (gift points). These unlock new skills for Toki and Towa.

You will fight monsters along the way. These are either depressingly easy to defeat or unfathomably irritating. There is no middle ground. Every monster though is actually rather simple once you figure out its pattern. Every monster has a pattern; some complex, some super simple. Memorize, counter, kill. Kill the monsters, get XP, chronos (money), and a small amount of GP.

When you get enough XP you level up, and Toki becomes Towa. Level again and Towa becomes Toki. They each seem to have affinities for certain types of spells and certain styles of attack. Toki is the rifle user, Towa the knife. Both will use both as you fight, but the rifle seems to be used the most. However these weapons are nothing compared to spells. Spells deal far more damage far faster.

Thanks to the skill tree there is some customization that can occur, but not a lot. Customization allows you to max at 12 spells/abilities and a lot of passive skills. Many of the abilities are shared.

Now, just like Toki and Towa look the same (although for some reason switching souls swaps hair and eye color...) monsters look the same too. There might be two dozen monster templates in the game, tops.

Copypasta Monsters. The monster on the left is the same template as on the right.

So as you fight your way through the game you will run into Ninja Alpha, Ninja Beta, Ninja Delta... and so on. The same tactics employed vs Alpha will also kill Delta. Nothing new. Just stronger. Bloody Palette Swaps!

The odd battle style.

That's pretty much the mechanics of the game. No complex crating... oh, but there is a relationship bar. When Drake (you, the pet dragon) helps in battle by healing, and a few other things, Affection and love can increase. I honestly can't tell you what difference Love makes other than the kind of meal your current fiance will prepare for you. Why do I say that... well to see that you'll need to actually beat the game on your own. Essentially, you can see two of the three endings (not really much of a spoiler) from one play through no matter what the love level is. Just make sure to use multiple save slots (always a good idea in any RPG anyways). This helps fill out the gallery for all you Trophy seekers. 

I made sure to get every treasure chest and do every side quest my first time through, for the Trophies! Save the DLC ones. Not really sure if I want to drop more money on the game.

That being said, final review scores after the next image.

Fan Service, even in battle.

I'm going to do this somewhat differently than I reviewed Tomb Raider 2013. I'm not sure which method of review I like best yet. Give me some feedback.

Review Time:

Game Play: Simple combat, simple progression, no real challenge.

1.5 Stars

Graphics: Nice animation (with the oddity in conversations), nice 3D environs... don't quite mesh.

3 Stars

Story: Simple story. Lame jokes. And I met Ray Amuro, Lucy and Linus. Never thought I'd encounter a Gundam pilot with Peanuts characters. WHY?

2.5 Stars

Music/Sound: This is the winner. The music is really good. Nice wonderful songs. I know why it came with a CD. (So did Tales of Xilia... we'll see how that does.)

4.5 Stars

Overall: A bit of a let down. Will I do the second play through for the third ending? Probably. I'm that kinda person. Still there are some serious flaws that should have been addressed.

2.5 Stars