Elfen Lied: anime review

Title: Elfen Lied
Genre: sci-fi, horror, drama
Released date: July 25, 2004 – October 17, 2004
Episode: 13
Director: Mamoru Kanbe
Animated by: Studio ARMS
Comment: Elfen Lied starts when a mysterious girl with horns escapes from a research facility, leaving a big pile of dead body behind. She is found by Kohta and Yuka at the beach and is taken to their home. I’ve seen countless of violent films and anime and I didn’t mind since they were the stories of adult but in Elfen Lied the violence is done on children. The anime also contains explicit nudity. The character design and atmosphere of the anime is colorful and bright but the bloody scenes (like heads and body parts torn off) often occurs so sudden that I felt as if I was punched hard in the face. Some scenes involve torture and even rape done to girls. These violence and nudity will surely turn a good number of viewers away. I don’t blame them since I was disturbed as well (at least initially).

But beneath the blood and gore, there is one good anime which is definitely worth watching. The drama is intense and the characterization is complex; each character had their problems to solve. Lucy, the mutant girl, had been mistreated since childhood for having strange horns and inhuman power. She later becomes a merciless killer but also had hidden alternative personally as Nyu who is innocent and harmless. Kohta experienced terrible loss in his childhood and he has been running away ever since by unconsciously forgetting and denying the very existence of the events and his meeting with Nyu eventually forces him to confront his past. Mayu is a runaway because she was repeatedly raped by her own stepfather. Other supporting characters like Nana, Yuka also have depth and developments. The script contains many interesting concepts such as the discrimination of the people by their difference and its terrible consequences, the purification of human race, the extreme contrast between human’s compassion and hatred. The anime also discusses about domestic violence. The strong graphic violence and nudity are probably put into the anime to reflect these concepts.

The animation is a technical achievement and the music is really beautiful especially the opening theme, Lilium. The ending is a bit unsatisfactory because some loose ends are left unsolved. Conclusion: the explicit content of Elfen Lied helps make the anime standout but it may also turn many people away. In which case, it is such a shame because Elfen Lied is anything but disappointment (for adults only, of course).

Rating: B

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Le Chevalier D'Eon: anime review

Title: Le Chevalier D'Eon
Genre: action, horror, supernatural, historical
Released date: August 19, 2006 – February 24, 2007
Episode: 24
Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi
Animated by: Production I.G
Comment: Le Chevalier D’Eon begins when Lia, D’Eon’s sister, is found dead in the river with the word ‘psalms’ on her body. D’Eon, driven by sorrow, anger and Lia’s spirit, sets out to investigate his sister’s death without knowing that the path he has chosen will lead to the darkest and deadliest secret of all.

Although magic plays vital role in the story, Le Chevalier D’Eon still manages to make numerous references to the real events and people. Actually, the supernatural part helps connect the anime to real events in several cases. This is the best part of the series and it would be much more entertaining if the viewers knew at least some part of French history. D’Eon’s gender in history is controversial because there are records of him as both male and female. In the anime, he is possessed by his sister’s spirit and he actually switches back and forth between both genders. During the end of the series, he even lives as a woman in order to avoid being recognized by the authorities. The fate of Maximilian, Robin and King Louis XV are also referred to the history which is amazing.

Despite these clever historical references, Le Chevalier D’Eon fails to capture the viewers’ interest in many parts especially in the middle of the series. The story drags, slows and the main characters, excluding D’Eon and Lia, are quite flat and not that interesting. Some events in the anime happen for apparently no reason or they are not well explained and left the viewer in puzzlement. For example, the reappearance of Count Saint-Germain as a monstrous undead in the last episode is totally out of place or the very existence of Belle, the talking skull, in Queen Marie’s possession is just irrelevant to the story. The long anticipated revelation comes late in the last few episodes with enormous intensity and shock. I must say it is worth the waiting but I doubt if anyone is patient enough to watch the series until one reach the anime finale. The animation is well done although the sword fight scenes are a little slow and choppy. Conclusion: I personally admire this anime for its wild imagination. It has more than enough good things to offer to the viewers but unfortunately the anime stumbles too often before reaching the sensational climax.

Rating: C+

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Hell Girl (season 1): anime review

Title: Hell Girl (season 1)
Genre: horror, drama, supernatural
Released date: October 4, 2005 – April 4, 2006
Episode: 26
Director: Takahiro Omori
Animated by: Studio Deen
Comment: Hell Girl can be disturbingly depressing at times that I do not recommend it to anyone who has had a bad day or is having suicidal idea. Nevertheless, Hell Girl is by all means worth watching. The series markedly differ from other animes. Instead of straightly telling the story of the main character, each episode of Hell Girl tells different stories of newly introduced characters while continuously building and developing on the same issues.

Enma Ai, aka Hell Girl, had suffered when she was alive and in the afterlife she remained between the world of the living and the dead. Typically, the person who needs an immediate revenge against someone will ask Ai for help by sending the name to Ai via e-mail. Enma Ai will send the requested person to hell on one condition that the person who made the request must also go to hell but only after he or she dies. Most of the early episodes are presented in similar pattern; the obviously bad guy hurts the innocent victim, blinded by grief and anger, the victim turns to Enma Ai for quick revenge which leads to somewhat satisfying ending. It seems like those who do evil things are punished just as they deserves. But about half way into the series, many interesting things starts to surface. The story gets more complex; the characters shows more than one aspects, the themes are less black-and-white and Hell Girl’s action doesn’t look as good as it initially did. In the second half, the series try to demonstrate the flaws of Hell Girl’s idea and it is subtly done. In one episode a girl condemns a veterinarian to hell for abusing and killing many animals including her beloved dog. It is just tragic to see a naïve girl pay terrible price for something like this. There are hundreds of other ways to deal with the problem but the girl fails to see them. In the other episode a kind woman is sent to hell by a mentally disturbed man. The two recurring characters, Hajime and Tsugumi, are cleverly used to provide arguments against Enma Ai’s actions and gives the viewers some sense of continuation between each episodes.

I like this anime because it lets me see the world from many aspects and it gets my thoughts running all the time. The anime does not give conclusion about which person is right or whether Ai’s action is decent but the viewers must use their own judgments. The animation quality and original soundtrack are very well done. Some people may feel that the series lack real ending. Conclusion: Despite some repetition and extremely depressing mood, each episode of Hell Girl is great on its own and the series as a whole are powerful and thought-provoking.

Rating: B+

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Otomo Katsuhiro's Memories: anime review

Title: Otomo Katsuhiro's Memories
Genre: action, sci-fi, drama, horror, comedy
Released date: December 23, 1995
Running Time: 113 min
Director: Koji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura, Katsuhiro Otomo
Comment: Memories consists of three short stories directed by three well known directors. Magnetic Rose, directed by Koji Morimoto and written by Satoshi Kon, is a typical ghost ship tale in space and also pays homage to other classic sci-fi films such as 2001: Space Odyssey. It is the most conventional but, arguably, considered the best of the three because it provides good combination of science, suspense, horror and drama. The scene in which the pilot faces the dead opera singer is immensely haunting and sad and cleverly reveals the tragic past of both characters. It is amazing that in merely 40 minutes, Magnetic Rose is able to create a world so vivid and characters so complex and realistic. The opera theme from Madam Butterfly and the original score by Yoko Kanno is simply perfect for the anime’s atmosphere.

The second episode, Stink Bomb, is a sudden change of mood. This black comedy is about a not-so-bright bioresearch facility employee whose body releases smelly, deadly gas after he accidentally ate an under experimental pill. What’s funniest is that even after every people in the city died and the army started shooting at him, he still doesn’t know what is the cause of this catastrophe. There are strong comment on politics, the army and the Unitied states. I admire the creativity and humor of this episode and the credit goes to the script by Otomo Katsuhiro.

The final episode, Cannon Fodder, Otomo Katsuhiro takes the viewers into the world infested with war that it becomes part of daily life. Every building has cannons that shoot out across the city wall to the unseen enemy and they teach children how to operate the cannons in schools. This episode is a technical marvel; the entire episode looks like it consists of one long shot and the animation detail is a state of the art. But the problem is that Cannon Fodder has the weakest screenplay compared to Rose or Bomb. It just shows us the daily activity of one family without any significant events or developments and, as a result, doesn’t deliver a satisfying closure to this great collection of short stories. Conclusion: The first episode sets the bar really high and overshadows the last. Nevertheless, Memories is a great anime that should not be missed.
Rating: B+

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Paranoia Agent: anime review

Title: Paranoia Agent
Genre: suspense, mystery, horror, comedy
Released date: 2 February 2004 – 18 May 2004
Episode: 13
Director: Satoshi Kon
Comment: Again Satoshi Kon amazed me on how he told simple story in a very interesting way. While watching Paranoia Agent, the viewers would always wonder if the events were real or just someone’s fantasy. The main plot was about a series of street assaults by the mysterious boy wielding baseball bat (people called him Shonen Bat). Initially, the attacks had no obvious pattern but when the number of victims increased, it seemed like all of the victims were feeling desperate when they were attacked. Each episode was unique in many ways; different main character, different mood, different style of story telling but all of them were cleverly related to the Shonen Bat. The direction and the screenplay were wonderful and imaginative with hidden social comments and psychological issues. The animation was colorful. After watching the series I had a mixed feeling of wonder, thrill, shock and great admiration for Satoshi Kon for his wild imagination and ideas. Conclusion: another must see anime.
Rating: A

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Blood: The Last Vampire: anime review

Title: Blood: The Last Vampire
Genre: action, horror, supernatural
Released date: November 18, 2000
Running Time: 48 minutes
Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Animated by: Production I.G, Aniplex
Comment: In this very short film, Saya, the Katana wielding vampire, hunted down monsters hiding in the US Air Base. That was literally all the story of this anime. It was vaguely hinted that Saya was the last vampire and working for the US government but no further information was revealed and throughout the movie Saya appeared to be plainly cold blooded killer. Other characters simply showed up and then were gone (killed or survived). Although the anime successfully created the dark and scary atmosphere and the fights between Saya and the monsters were thrilling and fun but I felt like the movie was only the action part of another complete film and I was so frustrated when it ended so abruptly. Conclusion: This anime had good art direction and animation and had few good moments but it lacked everything else including what really mattered like a decent story and characterization.
Rating: D+

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Tsukihime, Lunar Legend: anime review

Title: Tsukihime, Lunar Legend
Genre: drama, horror, supernatural, romance
Released date: 9 October 2003 – 25 December 2003
Episodes: 12
Director: Katsushi Sakurabi
Animated by: J.C.Staff
Comment: In Tsukihime, there were vampires, wolf like monsters, lots of blood and gore and deaths but it was actually the story of a lonely vampire princess who had spent 800 years hunting monsters and a young man who hated and feared himself because he possessed deadly powers. For horror fans, this anime would disappoint them. For action fans, this would not satisfy them. But for those who enjoyed drama and character driven anime, this one might be unexpectedly good. Not only Tohno Shiki and Arcueid Brunestud had secrets, other characters did too; Akiha inherited non-human blood, Ciel was working for the Vatican, Yumizuka was secretly in love with Shiki. These characters and their interactions were the most interesting element of this anime. Although the ending was really sad, it was memorable and wrapped up all the loose ends well.The soundtrack was nice. What would displease many viewers was its slow pace and long boring dialogues which were always left incomplete and did not take the story anywhere. After I finished the series, I could not help feel that the screenplay had too little to tell for a 12 episode long anime. Conclusion: Tsukihime was a decent and interesting drama anime but it was very slow that many people might fall asleep before they reach half of the series.
Rating: C+

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Boogiepop Phantom: anime review

Title: Boogiepop Phantom
Genre: sci-fi, horror, mystery
Released date: 6 January 2000 – 22 March 2000
Episode: 12
Director: Takashi Watanabe
Animated by: Madhouse studio
Comment: I have never read the Boogiepop novels and I have no background knowledge about the series prior to watching the anime. So, the only thing that drove me to finish this series was sheer curiosity. Unfortunately, the anime started with the event called “Pillar of light” which was actually the end of a very long and complex story involving numerous incoherently explained characters such as Nagi Kirima, the Manticore, Echoes and the Boogiepop itself. The anime never bother to tell these back stories but instead told the stories that were the consequence of the pillar of light. So, the twelve episodes of Boogiepop Phantom were twelve separated stories with few recurring characters and overlapping events but none of them were directly related to each other and the main plot was literally absent.

Despite the lack of main theme, Boogiepop managed to keep me interested all the time with each passing episode which was strange, unique and occasionally had unexpected twists. Some episodes could be considered a horror show, some were science fictions or even psychological thriller. The bad new was there was no conclusion made in the end of the series. So the twelve episodes of Boogiepop were left separated and my curiosity was not satisfied. It was frustrating. The animation was good although things hardly moved in this anime. the art direction and soundtrack successfully created a world so mysterious and haunting. Conclusion: Boogiepop Phamtom had plenty of unique and interesting concept and ideas but sadly failed to tied all of them together in the end making the series quite disappointing as a whole.
Rating: C

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Lament of the Lamb: anime review

Title: Lament of the Lamb (Hitsuji no Uta)
Genre: drama, horror
Released date: May 25, 2003
Episode: 4 (OVA)
Director: Gisabuo Sugii
Animated by: Madhouse studio
Comment: An extremely depressing story about Kazuna and his sister Chizuna who inherited a rare disease from their mother. The disease made them get uncontrollably thirsty when they saw blood or any blood colored liquid (vampirism). The story focused on Kazuna who recently discovered his illness and how he struggled to survived in the society. The anime was elaborately slow to emphasize the sadness, the despair and the loneliness of the lead characters. The most interesting part of this anime was that it showed a completely different aspect of vampire story; There were no scary or action scenes, no vampire hunters with guns or holy water and the vimpires were just regular peple with illness and all the human feelings. The animation was well done and the music was hauntingly beautiful. If the main objective of this anime was to make the viewers sad, it had succeeded. Conclusion: Lament of the Lamb was another interesting drama anime but it would not please younger viewers and those who wanted something fun.
Rating: B

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Hellsing: anime review

Title: Hellsing
Genre: action, horror, supernatural
Released date: October 10, 2001 – January 16, 2002
Episodes: 13
Director: Umanosuke Iida
Animated by: Gonzo studio
Comment: Hellsing started brilliantly with haunting dark atmosphere, cool fight scenes, well introduced characters and engaging storyline. Seras Victoria was severely wounded by a vampire and was on a verge of death. She would have died if Alucard hadn't save her by turning her into vampire. After that, Seras served under Alucard in several mission which were mostly eliminating evil vampires and demons.

The characters were nicely established; Seras must deal with the fact that she was no longer human, she was scared and confused; Integra and Alucards' past and relationahip were well introduced by using flash backs. The story in most episodes were fun and intrigung. I was so confident that this series was going to be great until it ended so abruptly at the thirteenth episode as if the producers had just decided that they had better things to do and threw in some big action sequences and ending credits. The villains, Alexander and Incognito, suddenly seemed purposeless. The mystery about the chips that turned human into vampire was left in darkness and Seras Victoria character developed no further. The animation was great and the soundtracks which used rock music extensively was really cool. Conclusion: Hellsing was a very good anime that lacked its ssecond half. It was painful to watch bad anime but I’ve just realized that it was equally painful to watch an incomplete good anime.
Rating: C+

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