Anime Reviews by Adrian

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Showing posts with label Magic. Show all posts

Night Wizard [review]

Publicat de Adrian On Tuesday, May 24, 2011 0 comentarii

Type: TV
Episodes: 13
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 2, 2007 to Dec 25, 2007
Producers: Hal Film Maker
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, Shounen
Duration: 25 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Synopsis
Night Wizard. A term given to those whose mission is to protect the world from impending darkness. Renji Hiiragi is one such Night Wizard, who is constantly called on missions, even though all he wants is to be able to go to school and graduate.

However, his latest order was to protect Elis Shiho, who is a new transfer student at his academy. Being dragged into the Astronomy Club by Renji's childhood friend, Kureha Akabane on her first day at school, Elis soon realises that she too, has the power to become a night wizard, after possessing one of seven secret Jewels, the Jewel of Kindness.

Along with Renji and Kureha, Elis now begins her fight and her new life, as a Night Wizard.

Review

ART SECTION: 7

I must say I was surprised. Most fantasy anime really suck in battles but this one had some basic strategy in it. It was not just people screaming and throwing fireballs. Well… most of it was… But several important battles were based on some sort of revelation or sideway trick. Some may call this Deus Ex Machina but I personally expected much less from such a series and thus I liked it. In fact, the battles are the best thing I noticed.

Beyond that, the depiction of the world is a very nice blend of our normal one with that of epic phantasy. Modern day cities and schools, packed with wizards, monsters, flying fortresses and the like; wow I was amazed again. To be honest, most monsters were carbon copies of one another and most uniforms were more fetishes than practical; but hey, I am a sucker for fantasy.

Going further, the visual effects were generally pleasing. Lots of neon glow, hovering runes and magic missiles filled the screen and gave me a funny Jrpg feeling (not a surprise, the series really is based on a game). The only thing I didn’t really liked was how everything seemed to pop out of nowhere. “No kidding Einstein, that’s why they call it magic” you may say. Well, yes, truly magic self excuses everything. But the series does not implement total magic devises. Many things feel like science fiction, as many characters use laser canons, bazookas and the sort of weapons that don’t count as magical by default. And yet, look, the battle starts and the characters summon huge Claymores, rocket launchers (including their ammo!), and steel shields, literally out of thin air. That kinda felt lame.

In all, as far as animation goes, the blend of normal with fantasy was done in a generally pleasing way, so seeing high-schoolers turning into male barbarians carrying neon glow Claymores and girls turning in black-clad, mini skirt, perky witches felt more pleasing than stupid.

Points are lost for the simple reason that there wasn’t that much battle choreography (much less realism) during the fights and because the series lacked cinematic optical tricks I am so fond of.

SOUND SECTION: 6
Unlike the animation, the music didn’t have much to back things up. Besides some beatty music themes here and there, the rest of it (voice acting, sound effects) didn’t strike me as much. So, I only give a bit above average.

STORY - CHARACTER - OVERALL SECTIONS: 4
Here comes the nasty part. Take the most cliched school-life story and mix it with the most cliched epic fantasy story. The result is Night Wizard. It would be a lot more interesting if it had some REAL plot twists or surprises but it didn’t. Even the cast is nothing more than a typical blend of romance archetypes with D&D character classes. Not bad by itself but none evolved or did things I haven’t already seen in a thousand Jrpgs. In all, Story and Characters serve less than an anime of such a blend should deliver. That is the only reason Value gets dragged down along with the other two.

ENJOYMENT SECTION: 5
If it weren’t for the weird blend of normal with fantasy, this section would also be a 4. But, since I am a sucker for Jrpgs, I just gave a bit more. That is all.

VERDICT
Just skip the story parts and stare at the pretty lights during battles.

Fullmetal Alchemist [review]

Publicat de Adrian On 0 comentarii

Alternative Titles
English: Fullmetal Alchemist
Synonyms: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi, FMA, Full Metal Alchemist
Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 51
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 4, 2003 to Oct 2, 2004
Producers: Bones, Aniplex, Square Enix, FUNimation EntertainmentL, Mainichi Broadcasting
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Magic, Shounen, Military
Duration: 25 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Review

STORY
10/ 10
Fullmetal Alchemist takes place in a world that seems similar to our own, but not as technologically advanced. Trains and steam powered engines are used a great deal, and the science of alchemy is far more prevalent than machines of our time. In alchemy, there is the rule of equivalent trade: you must give something of equal value in order to get something. And above all else, human transmutation is against all rules of alchemy, and does not work... or so it seems. Rumors have it that the Philosopher's Stone can give the alchemist the ability to even raise the dead, but it is long since sought after and never found. Enter Al and Edward, two young boys who attempted this heinous act once their beloved mother died. The act failed, causing Ed to lose his arm and leg, and Al to lose his body, trapping his soul in the body of a machine. Full Metal Alchemist follows Ed and Al as they search for the Philosopher's Stone to get their bodies and lives back... and that's just the beginning.

Full Metal Alchemist is, in a word, brilliant. It's hard to explain exactly why it was so good, so you'd probably just have to see it for yourself. There is a perfect blend of comedy, action, intrigue and excitement all in one. Filler episodes are wonderful and fly by quicker than a bullet train. I never at any point in the series was bored, even for a second. In the beginning, there are a great deal of mini-arcs that deal with events in a certain town or location, but all are still somewhat involved with the main plot. Once the end of the series rolls around, you realize that all of these seemingly unconnected events or places really ARE connected, or come back into play somehow. This comes down to FMA's epic nature at heart, and maybe that's why it was so good, who knows.

ANIMATION
9 / 10
The animation style for FMA was superb, and held a perfect balance of serious scenes and comedic chibis. Let's face it, the comedy played a big part in the series, and comic relief was badly needed in harsh scenes. The longest running joke was Ed being called short, and his irritation always manifested itself by him turning chibified for a few minutes. Whereas this would annoy me in most series, it seemed totally appropriate in FMA. Colors used were incredibly bright and vibrant, and character designs looked, well, normal for a series in this time period. The alchemy was definitely the most impressive part, showing us beautiful special effects and sequences. I believe a bit of CG was used, and was seamless, but I could be wrong on that point. Backgrounds were gorgeous, monsters were creepy, and the violence and disturbing parts were animated in a very... well... disturbing fashion as well.

SOUND
10 / 10
There are barely any series that I see that make me want to get the soundtrack, and this is one of them. There was a piano tune in the later half of the series that was haunting and gave me chills every time it was played. Every piece fit the series in some way, from the upbeat lighthearted tracks to the moody depressing ones. Orchestral music dominated the series, mostly piano and violins.Even the intros and outros (except the last two outros, which were pretty terrible) shone. I don't usually rate the music score on the intro/outro, which is why this still gets a 10. Flawless music all the way around, and enchanting enough to make me want to buy the soundtrack, which is a really big deal in itself.

CHARACTERS
10 / 10
I honestly can't see how anyone could think the characters score should be lower than a 10. All the characters, even the secondary ones, were developed extremely well. Al and Ed, obviously, had the most revealed about their pasts and motivations for the future, but even the bad guys and non-important folk seemed to have twists and depth attached to them in some way. We see characters grow close and drift apart. We see characters born, and characters die unexpectedly. We see masks cast aside from familiar faces, showing us that what the people we thought we knew, we really didn't at all. Everyone has layers that are peeled back and shown to us slowly... and in general, it was done in the most effective way possible.

ENJOYMENT
10 / 10
I can't say enough good things about this series, but I feel like watching it for yourself would make you understand why I gave it a perfect score. Everything about the series is flawless, from the epic and involved story to the pacing and mood, to the music and animation and depth of characters. It really is rare for a series like this to come along that not only succeeds at keeping your attention for 26 episodes, but for 51. Whether you like action, adventure, comedy, a good story, interesting and multi-dimensional characters, etc. you’re bound to find something you like. And that’s part of what makes Fullmetal Alchemist such a great series. So what are you waiting for? Check this out as soon as you can!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood [review]

Publicat de Adrian On 0 comentarii

Alternative Titles
English: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Synonyms: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (2009), Fullmetal Alchemist (2009), FMA
Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 64
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 5, 2009 to Jul 4, 2010
Producers: Bones, Aniplex, Square Enix, FUNimation EntertainmentL
Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Magic, Shounen, Military
Duration: 24 min. per episode
Rating: R - 17+ (violence & profanity)

Review

Story (10/10) – I cannot stress enough how much better the story of “Brotherhood” is than the original. If you’re reading this review, you likely know that the original show deviated from the manga after a short while, and continued in a rather different direction. As manga tends so often to be, the story of the manga ends up being much stronger than what the creators of the original anime were able to come up with. “Brotherhood” follows the story of the manga quite closely, thus the anime never feels like filler, or just boring junk.

The first fifteen episodes or so are very similar to about the first half of the original “Fullmetal Alchemist”. “Brotherhood” covers more story in less time, and doesn’t drag nearly like the original did. This is especially apparent in the beginning, where some parts that were already told in the original series were more or less skipped over to save time. Purists might squawk about this, but it was probably a wise idea, in light of time constraints.

If you’ve seen the original Fullmetal Alchemist, then you’ll be familiar with the first major portions of the show. It may feel like a rehash for the first several episodes, but you’ll fairly quickly realize that the scale of what will eventually take place is much greater, and much more sinister than what the original Fullmetal Alchemist conveyed. The twists that Ed and Al are taken through are enough to leave you wanting more after each episode.

But enough rambling. If you’d like a synopsis, just look one up.

(Art 10/10) – The art in this show is simply superb! Characters and scenery are drawn with careful detail, and they also achieve a sense of realism, which is somewhat necessary in a “Steam-Punk” world that could almost be America a century ago. The mix of realism, combined with the fantasy of Alchemy, creates for an interesting balance that not many animes can achieve. Additionally, the art is very smooth, with each movement flowing into the next seamlessly. There were a few instances where larger or more intricate drawings were done with computer animation. These scenes are slightly choppier than the rest of the anime, but you likely won’t notice unless you’re looking for it.

The only gripe I had with the animation was early on in the show, where characters would burst into silly caricatures when they were especially emotional about something. Most notably is Ed transforming to look like a praying mantis when someone calls him short. This made it seem like the show didn’t take itself very seriously at first, but such incidents gradually declined as the show progressed, and became rather scarce during the more serious parts of the show. I simply think the show would have benefitted from less outbursts of this nature early on.

(Sound 9/10) – The voice acting in this show is some of the best you’ll hear. I was pleasantly relieved to hear that there were no annoying, shrill voices that anime can be guilty of at times. There weren’t any standout performances that I can think of, but each actor voiced their role marvelously.

The only reason for a 9 instead of a 10 was that it sounded to me like some of the music had been recycled from the original Fullmetal Alchemist. The music fit the scenes very well, but I thought an update might have been helpful. Also, the music never really stuck out to me as being particularly awesome. It was good, but not quite deserving of a 10.

(Characters 10/10) – It will be quite a struggle to keep my comments succinct on this topic! “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” shines brilliantly in this area! Never before have I grown so attached to such a diverse cast of characters. There were a number of characters that I wasn’t particularly attached to in the original series that I grew to love in “Brotherhood”. The show does a brilliant job of making each character’s motivations easy to understand, yet complex enough that they aren’t totally flat. It also has a way of forcing characters who were once enemies to work together when faced with a common enemy.

I was especially impressed by how Ed and Al were so much easier to relate to in “Brotherhood”. I found myself much more emotionally attached to them, and had a much stronger desire to see them succeed. Al is much stronger and helps Ed fight much more often, which I also found to be a pleasant change of pace. I could name probably ten other characters who I grew attached to, yet wasn’t terribly fond of in the original series. “Brotherhood” also introduces a set of new characters that blend in perfectly with that cast that I was already familiar with.

The long and short of it is this: the cast of “Brotherhood” will draw you in and leave you eagerly watching their every move until the conclusion of the series.

(Enjoyment 10/10) – I really don’t have much to say on this topic, except I loved it! I never had to force myself to keep going, and I enjoyed every bit of the show!

(Overall 10/10) – Definitely give this one a shot! It’s well worth your time. And in my opinion, it’s far superior to its predecessor.

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Night Wizard [review]

Fullmetal Alchemist [review]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood [review]

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