Crunchyroll review - Courageous soldier girls fight for peace

The girls of "Soranowoto" valiantly work for the common good in a post-apocalyptic world of warfare.

At first glance, there are numerous reasons why this series shouldn't work. The cute girls seem out of place in this period piece. The intense violence is shocking. The ending theme song counteracts with the serious tone of the show.

And yet, "Soranowoto" succeeds on so many levels, as a cheerful ode to the courageous work of soldiers. Although these military dogs appear too cute for their own good, the anime ends on an optimistic note of peace and understanding. In fact, the show was one of the best for this season.

The main narrative centers on a girl named Kanata Sorami, a rural villager whose parents died during the war in Helvetia. When she sees a female soldier play "Amazing Grace" on a bugle, she becomes inspired to join the military.

Yes, Kanata becomes a soldier because she wants to play the bugle. It sounds like the most ridiculous reason to join the armed forces. However, the single event helped her grow up to become a strong, vivacious teenager.

And even though Kanata initially loses track of the destination of her post, she discovers that her work is much more enjoyable than anyone would expect. She doesn't just learn to play the trumpet. She befriends a wonderful group of four soldier girls, whose mission is to help the villagers in the town of Seize.

Even though the character designs of "Soranowoto" look like they were taken straight from the other cute series, "K-On!", the story is rich with a unique blend of Mayan culture, Japanese food and European landscapes. This is an extremely idealized view of life as a soldier. Yet, this series was meant to focus on the few pleasures of life in spite of all the negativity and chaos surrounding them.

The violence sometimes reaches a horrific level, considering how adorable all the girls are. Bullets and mortar wounds literally can rip their bodies apart. The violence literally can tug at people's heartstrings with shocking images. The characters are constantly forced to courageously stand up against all odds, rather than fall victim to their traumatic anguish.

Unfortunately, the tone of the series fluctuates greatly through the 12 episodes. The ending sequence in every episode features opposing images of girls laughing and playing to some cheesy J-pop tune. The animation looked almost hypocritical, considering how frightening the last two episodes turned out.

Other parts are left unexplained. For instance, Kanata finds a mysterious underwater fossil of an angel creature in the first episode. Believe it or not, this fossil is somehow connected to the events which led to a post-apocalyptic universe. Knowing that it was an angel, the director might have wanted to make some sort of connection to the dystopian angel apocalypse in the film "End of Evangelion." We will never know about this angel.

However, we don't need to know all the symbolism and history of the angel fossil to enjoy this series. Every part of the series fits together nicely in its short 12-episode run. "Soranowoto" is about all the joys of working for the good of humanity, to understand everyone as friends and not enemies. Even though the series ends with a somewhat unbelievable scenario, it presents a hopeful dream of peace for everyone.

Image courtesy of photobucket.com

DVD Review: More relaxing in Neo-Venezia

It's especially hard to keep up the momentum for "Aria," an incredibly relaxing series with serene imagery and comforting character.

However, even "Aria" has some really unusual characters in Neo-Venezia to add some variety in season two.

The first part of season two brings back all the classic characters of "Aria" for a reunion at the Carnivale. All Akari's buddies from season one, including little Ai, return to Aria to see the mysterious Casanova.

This sets up Akari and Ai's new Totoro impersonation. The humongous, masked Casanova invites Akari and Ai to join in his dance. There's nothing cuter than watching Akari and Ai sing "Zutto, zutto, zutton, pon!" while they are following the Casanova, who may be related to Cait Sith, king of the cats.

There's plenty of new characters who arrive. Probably the best new addition, however, is the gnome Edward, who is also Aika's love interest. Their new romance is one of the most touching parts of season two. There's something charming when Aika says that Edward is so unfairly nice. She tries to look away, but the chemistry they have together is irresistable. Aika even comes up with a line to say to him whenever he gives weird elderly statements to Aika aloud.

The characters also take up more difficult changes to their attitudes in this series. Alice has a dramatic episode in which she turns down a warm invitation to have dinner with the other Pairs (gondola navigators) in her company, Orange Planet. She has a nervous fear that her coworkers are jealous of her and hate her. Thankfully, her teacher, Athena, is willing to help her open up.

Admittedly, the series makes me fall asleep, but not because it is boring. In fact, the beautiful images of water and the complex characters are just captivating. However, I often wondered just how long the anime director could keep this series of pure bliss intact. "Aria" ran for 39 episodes. It's difficult to keep the tone consistent, yet allow room for the characters to evolve.

However, there's plenty of things for the characters to say, because they always discover new things that are unique in Neo-Venezia. Whether they encounter the ruins of a neverending cat city, a bakery which serves bread made from buckwheat noodles, or a children's puppeteer, there's always something new in the city to find.

Most of all, Akari is friendlier than ever. The bubbly characters never lose their charm. I'm already itching to watch the second part of season two.

Image courtesy of aria.rightstuf.com

Film Review - Ponyo is one of Miyazaki's best

"Ponyo" is by far the best anime film of 2009, with incredibly creative hand-drawn animation and visuals.

The latest anime film from Hayao Miyazaki focuses on a little goldfish with a human face, named Ponyo. It begins with Ponyo sneaking her way through a submarine window. A boy named Sosuke finds the little fish and decides to keep it as a pet.

Sosuke has no idea that Ponyo is more than just an ordinary goldfish. She has a human face, and she even speaks Sosuke's named aloud. Ponyo is the daughter of an underwater magician named Fujimoto, who says that the natural order of the ocean will become out of balance if Ponyo lives in the human world.

The film gradually grows more wildly creative. Miyazaki's use of hand-drawn animation is perfect for the character of Ponyo, whose actual body undertakes some magnificent metamorphosis from a simple red goldfish.

The true spotlight of the film is on director Hayao Miyazaki's visuals. Miyazaki has always been known for creating a wonderful variety of characters, from the chaotic demons in "Princess Mononoke" to the cute creatures of "My Neighbor Totoro." However, Ponyo may trump them all as being the cutest, but possibly the most powerful of all the characters. Ponyo has the ability to shift the oceans and cause floods and tsunamis.

In fact, her loving relationship with Sosuke is the only thing that keeps her powers in check. Although the romance between the two is kept to a minimum, Ponyo's voice is adorably cute. To the very end of the film, the beauty of "Ponyo" lies in the power of love to withhold the Earth's obliteration.

Director Miyazaki has created another masterpiece which ranks among his best. His palette of colors is filled with beautiful blues, greens and purples. His drawings are pushed to the limit, with smoothly animated creatures and humans. He even squeezed in a lovable song at the end all about Ponyo.

The English voice actors also hold the film together marvelously. There are a few lines that don't translate too well, some of which involve an innocent conversation about a mother's milk in the second half of the film. But for most of the film, the voice actors' lines don't sound awkward at all. Even Frankie Jonas is believable as the simple boy, Sosuke.

Hands down, "Ponyo" is one of Miyazaki's best films ever made. Don't be surprised if "Ponyo" wins an Academy Award for best animated film.

Images courtesy of wdsfilmpr.com

DVD Review: Lucky Star Comes to an End

After the disappointing fifth volume in "Lucky Star," I really hoped for a good wrap-up for this series. After all, "Lucky Star" is one of the most educational series about Japan for Americans.

And thankfully, "Lucky Star" wraps up with far more exciting end-of-high school activities in episodes 21-23 and a stylish cheerleading routine in episode 24.

Considering that "Lucky Star" was more of a mix-up of jokes compared to Azumanga Daioh, volume six is much more neatly organized from episode 21 to 24. There's still the same mixed bag of anime jokes with some dramatic side stories, but each episode has a unique theme to it in volume six.

In episode 21, Kuroi-sensei announces that her senior class will be taking a field trip to Kyoto. The episode opens with a fascinating look at the Buddhist temples. In the middle of the trip, Kagami receives a letter from a boy to meet at a bus stop in the middle of the night. It's an emotional, but surprisingly realistic side story for the series. And thankfully, Konata makes sure to cheer up Kagami from her melancholy mood.

However, the series also features a touching spiritual reunion with Konata's mother. Or rather, the ghost of Konata's mother. Konata (with an "o") actually spends some special time talking with her father about her mother, who died a few years after Konata was born. And then the ghost of Konata's mother appears in the room. Even though Konata cannot see her, this is a very heartwarming episode where her mother checks up on how her daughter is doing.

Some of the best jokes of "Lucky Star" take place in episode 23. Konata, the most observant high schooler, actually catches on to the secrets of her little cousin's friends. It's a little too embarassing for the cute cousin, Yutaka, to read the explicit manga drawn by her friends, or to hear from Konata that Minami secretly hopes to grow bigger breasts. But thankfully, Yutaka doesn't seem to mind, and they actually become far better friends thanks to Konata.

The humorous "Lucky Channel" segment of the series also takes a dark turn when Minoru Shiraishi arrives on the set with his body scratched up and his clothes tattered. Turns out he was getting water from Mount Fuji for the selfish host Akira Kogami. From then on, Minoru Shiraishi yells that he's so tired of working with Akira, picks a violent fight with her and rips apart the "Lucky Channel" set in his rage.

Now that's edgy stuff that we will never see in the "Animaniacs" show. But it's probably the funniest turn for "Lucky Channel," in which the audience is left wondering whether Minoru and Akira will even have a job when the series is over.

However, probably the best episode is episode 24, also known as the infamous episode with the full cheerleading routine of the "Lucky Star" girls. Sure, it's really just an excuse for cosplay fangirls to perform the same dance routine at anime conventions. But it looks great, and it sounds oh so irresistably nonsensical. And surprisingly, the serious, studious Kagami is really hyped about the cheerleading dance.

It's a tearful but wonderful farewell to one of the best slice-of-life anime series I have ever seen. Certainly it's a little more based on down-to-earth everyday life than most anime, but this is exactly what makes "Lucky Star" so special. It's a simple anime about schoolgirls who love talking about anime and manga, without magical powers or flashy special effects.

It still doesn't beat out the cute everyday humor of "Azumanga Daioh," but volume six of "Lucky Star" is a definite must-buy, with some of the most heartfelt moments of the series.

Image courtesy of kurogane.animeblogger.net

DVD Review: Do you feel lucky...star? (part 5)

Up until now, I couldn't stop watching "Lucky Star." Sure, the jokes were childish conversations about video games and J-pop culture, but I loved it.

However, volume 5 is one of the more lackluster volumes in the Lucky Star series. The jokes aren't as funny, and the dialogue is almost too cumbersome at times.

There are some humorous moments, though. Episode 17 of this series takes us in the final year activities. All the students have to give their preferred majors after high school, but Konata still wants to become a brigade leader. It's a reference to "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya." Good grief.

I was glad that this episode also featured a dramatic part, in which the smart Kagami gets a little steamed at her older sister for bossing her around. Thankfully, her sister gave her credit for all the work she did, purchasing groceries at the end of the day. Certainly it's not the most dramatic thing I've seen in a series, but it really changes up the typical Lucky Star formula.

While parts of episode 18 are somewhat hit-and-miss, Lucky Star has a ball in episode 19 with making all the Gundam references they can possibly make, blurring and censoring all the names and images of the series. In fact, even Konata and her dad's eyes are covered with a black box, presumably because they look like Gundam robot eyes?

Every once in a while, Lucky Star has some zany, ridiculous computer-generated sequence. In episode 19, Yutaka's manga-writing friend, Hiyori Tamura, goes through an intense slow-motion tripping sequence in the school hallway, twisting onto her back just so she can save her drawing hand. Now THAT'S how an anime company uses computer animation!

However, the most memorable part of this DVD is in episode 19, when Tamura and her friends walk by someone cosplaying as Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. Tamura can't help but take as many camera photos as she can, and send her photos over the phone. After all, this is THE Edward Elric we're talking about.

However, those are the best parts. Many of the other jokes are not that funny at all, involving cute everyday jokes that just didn't crack up my funny bone. The jokes in episode 20 about mosquito bites were so, so repetitive and boring. Thankfully, Tamura cranked out all the jokes she possibly could in episode 19. She's easily the most exciting character, who loves manga and takes every single effort to fantasize people as her favorite anime characters.

If only all the other characters tried to do this. I wasn't impressed with episode 20 at all. Hopefully something more interesting happens in the final volume, but I'm not betting all my money on it.

Image courtesy of robololi.wordpress.com

DVD Review - Lucky Me! It's Lucky Star (part two)

Although "Lucky Star" was a little hit-and-miss in its first four episodes, volume two really nailed my funny bone with some sneaky anime jokes.

Let's face it--"Lucky Star" is not exactly original--most of its jokes are only funny if people have seen the anime series which the characters reference. However, these make for some very elusive inside jokes.

For example, episode 5 introduces us to Yui Narumi, Konata's cousin. Yui is a police officer, seen patrolling the summer festival. However, she spends more time playing carnival games with Konata and the kids, and eventually gets dragged off by her superiors.

Yui has some clever jokes--in episode 6, she engages in an Initial D-style race with someone who passes her on the freeway. It's an intense-looking race, until we notice that Yui is only driving at 45 mph. Talk about heavily dramatized!

Oh and let's not forget the elusive Neon Genesis Evangelion joke, in which their teacher, Nanako, drinks a can of beer and re-enacts Misaki as she says "CAAAAAAH! This is delicious!"

Konata's struggle to do her homework makes for some awesome jokes on the same caliber as Calvin and Hobbes. Konata usually ends up taking a short break playing an MMORPG online, which usually turns into a really, really long break. Sometimes Konata finds an extremely rare item, and she decides to spend all night using it with her guild. Other times, Konata chats with her teacher online on the same MMORPG. Who knew that Konata's teacher plays the same MMORPG?

Episode 7 is a great parody in itself--Konata spends her time acting like Sachiko in "Maria Watches Over Us." She re-enacts the famous sensual opening scene where Sachiko unties her classmate's neck tie and reties it again. Konata also spends a disturbing amount of time trying to hit on her classmates.

Maybe Konata should stop watching anime--she's almost too hooked on cosplaying and acting as her favorite anime characters.

Tsukasa also gets a new cell phone--but like any person who isn't acquainted with modern technology, Tsukasa doesn't even know how to type in someone's name in. Her phone plays anime tunes in the middle of class. Eventually, the phone dies out when it enters the washing machine.

Lastly, Konata gets the last laugh in the episode 8 in the last relay race. Miyuki finishes the relay, and Konata remarks that Miyuki conveniently won by using her breasts to hit the ribbon as a fan service moment.

The Lucky Star gang also has a blast mutilating their own karaoke version of the Dragonball Z theme "Cha-la Head," at the end of episode 5.

Sure, only anime nerds will probably understand these jokes, but this anime has some of the best anime-oriented jokes ever. While this is not the must-have anime series for everyone, it is the best anime series for anime junkies, and "Lucky Star" deserves credit for some of the best jokes about anime.

As a fun extra, the music composer for Lucky Star, Minoru Shiraishi, continues his random journey through Kyuushu in "The Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi." He dances and sings the Lucky Star theme and the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya theme in the most inconvenient places on rocky coasts and cliffs. According to director Yasuhiro Takemoto, these scenes will be used in the ending sequence for Lucky Star. Already, Shiraishi's making a fool out of himself, so the end product should look pretty goofy.

Image courtesy of audibble.wordpress.com