Archive for the English Anime Category


Great (Retro) Anime/Manga Gift Guide 2011 (English)

November 25th, 2011

I’m staring at my pile of to-watch and to-read anime and manga and I can’t but help notice that there are a lot of familiar titles among the mix. And, as it’s that time of year again, at which Americans decide what matching pen and pencil set to get their relatives, and otaku Americans decide what anime or manga they should buy to indoctrinate their younger family members, I had a thought.

This year, I’m specifically suggesting anime and manga that were awesome and wonderful a decade or more ago and are just as wonderful, now that they are available again. These will all make perfect family watching/reading to brainwash educate your young family members in the ways of anime and manga fandom. And, possibly create a new Okazu reader or two. ^_^

Princess Knight – This is as close to a kernel as we have in America for the concept of “shoujo manga.” And, not at all coincidentally, Sapphire is the inspiration for many of our favorite cross-dressing, sword-wielding heroines, Lady Oscar, Tenou Haruka and Tenjou Utena among them.

This manga makes a great starting point for discussion of gender roles, societal expectations, Disney as a role-model for manga and anime, and the history of manga. It also makes a terrific end point, after you’ve handed your youth of choice some of the other items on this list and they are intrigued as to where this kid of thing all started. History lessons disguised as entertainment…what will nefarious adults think of next?

Magic Knight Rayearth manga. This fetching all-in-one edition of CLAMP’s sword-and-sorcery classic manga is…really nice. Color pictures make the volume an attractive collector’s item, especially for those people who missed this the first time around. The story is, perhaps, “basic,” but as a result it makes a fantastic entree’ into role-playing, strong female characters, chicks with swords, teamwork/friendship-focused stories and other touchpoints that mean a lot to readers of Okazu. Let me be blunt, this would have been my favorite series ever at 8 years old.  Give this to the girl prince in your family, or the gamer kid and see what they make of it. I bet they love it. Then, when you’ve got them good and interested, invite them over for a marathon watching of….

Magic Knight Rayearth remastered Anime. Media Blasters did a really, really nice job.

Yes, the anime itself seems kind of kiddy-anime. That’s because it was. It was still pretty classic sword-and-sorcery stuff. Evolving armor, magic, weapons, a little light politics and romance, magical creatures, even giant robots. This is your chance to have heart-to-heart with your young relative about love and hate and violence and friendship and how many different ways humans make bad decisions.

And the remastered animation really looks good.

When you watch  Season 2, you can advance the discussions of politics a bit.

Also, I recommend start using the word “delusion” in discussion about the way we as adults, especially, talk about our world. Let them know that it’s not their imagination. ^_^

Or you can do none of that, and just enjoy the colorful animation in fine CLAMP style (personally, I always like their swirly bits,) and the D&D-ish world with Japanese influence.

About this time, you should introduce them to Code Name: Sailor V.

Bearing in mind that this may be the very girliest of all the girly things on this list, it’s still adorable and important.

Minako is not an “average girl” in the way that most magical girls are presented. She’s very athletic, she’s not too sharp and her life is centered around the kinds of things an actual 13-year old might care about – boys, pop idols, having fun with friends, playing games, reading about stuff that she’s not yet buying, but would one day like to.

As bizarre as that might seem, at 13 most girls actually do want to be more grown up, more active in their own lives, and they kind of have to wait a few years before they are allowed to be. Minako provides us a glimpse into a really typical teen girl id – fun, friends, fashion, yummy food, and an overwhelming, if somewhat limited, sense of justice. Sailor V is solid fun, with some weirdly non-moral of the story wrap-ups. The second volume of Sailor V gets a little deep and very superficial at the same time. Some of those chapters are perfect openings for discussion of body image, among other things.

Of course once your young family member has read this, hit them with the big guns….

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is not a classic by accident. This series combined elements of classic “girls” stories with elements of the most popular “boys” stories to a create a whole that resonates with readers even now. It’s not accidental that Sailor Moon was made into an anime, where Sailor V was not. The themes of friendship, teamwork, strength in numbers is one of the binding ideas of this series, just as it is in One Piece.

The supporting characters are exactly what makes this series so powerful. With such a large ensemble, each targeted to a personality archetype, there was someone for everyone to like in Sailor Moon. As the older characters are added in, it’s likely to be read by more family members than just the kid you’re giving it to.

Now that your target kid is thoroughly hooked, hand them Volume 1of the Card Captor Sakura Omnibus. I originally gave these to my 14-year old niece, but she’s in a more Doctor Who phase right now. However, my 17-year old nephew ended up liking this series enough to keep reading.

I can’t say enough about this series. There’s so *much* here. Sakura is strong, in a complete girly, down-to-earth way. You can imagine having her over for lunch and really enjoying her company. (And Tomoyo’s, because of course she’d come, too.) There’s just enough sexual politics, elementary grade version, in this book to intrigue and bewilder anyone of any age. The art is some of CLAMP’s absolute best. I consider this series to be their peak work.  For those of you with kids in your life you think are even the slightest bit bent, this series is a must-read for them.

Volume 2  continues with even more great freaky magic, and more deeply intense relationships that you just don’t normally see, all within an adventure that’s perfectly child-friendly. I’m reminded over and over why this series was so damn popular when it came out. Because it’s *excellent* on every level.

Every new character that it introduces is delightful to know, even (and often especially) when they disturb you just ever so slightly. ^_^ This series also genuinely has the best magical creatures I’ve ever seen in any fantasy series.

(As an aside, my number one and two wishes for 2012 are that the Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura anime are relicensed and re-released by a company that cares about quality. Number three and four would to complete the body of literary precedents with the licensing of Rose of Versailles, anime and manga.)

Which brings us to the final suggestion I have for this year’s Gift Guide. In this case, it’s the manga that remains out of print, and the anime which has been re-issued.

Revolutionary Girl Utena could not have been without all the previous series. It took so many of the elements established in earlier series and combined them in unique, powerful ways.

Because of the non-linear story, the surreal art, and some of the themes, it makes a great benchmark to the inside of your family member’s brains.

This 10th anniversary edition looks good, has great extras, and has stood up well against the last decade of animation. The music is still a magical cookbook of awesome.

I must comment on  the tremendous overlap of voice actors in the anime for Utena, Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura. I consider these people masters of their craft for very very good reasons.

In any case, when you are considering your family members and you think you’ve got one that could become an Okazu reader in the future, stick these under their tree and see what happens. ^_^





Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing Anime, Guest Post by Felix (English)

November 23rd, 2011

It’s Guest Post Wednesday! Today we have an exciting post, from long-time Okazu reader and commenter Felix! We’re very excited to have Felix join out Guest Reviewer community. Please extend a welcome hand and thank to Felix!

Last Exile, Fam the Silver Wing is the story of three girls, each of 15 years of age: Fam Fan Fan, sky pirate and fantastic vespa pilot, Giselle Collette, Fam’s genius navigator and closest friend (whom Fam calls “Gisey”), and the girl they meet, the young princess of the Kingdom of Turan, Millia il Velch Curettola Turan. This is the story of how Fam decides to steal a battleship from the middle of battle, save a princess, and embark on a quest to help Millia save her beloved older sister and their kingdom from the conquering Ades Federation. This story also involves a legend, how once long ago humans left a dying earth but one day returned. The legend of the Exile…

When I was first writing this review, I was thinking of doing a detailed synopsis of the first four episodes, but I decided instead tell you my reasons why you should start watching.

1) Three great female leads:

Because you are reading Okazu, I am assuming you love great female leads, like I do. In these four episodes I have come to truly love Fam, Gisey, and Millia. Outside of some of my favorite Yuri series, I don’t think I actually have been as excited to see how the leads develop, as I am with this series. In the beginning, Fam was a somewhat crazy, hotshot pilot, Gisey was really her straight man, and Millia was…a princess. My god, the amount of actual character development just in these first four episodes, I can honestly say is more then I have seen for the female leads in most series I watched. Fam may come up with “crazy” plans, but they are in fact actually based on extremely solid ideas. Actually, of all three characters, and despite what you expect, she is probably the most mature, often times the most level headed.

The main reason for their success is because Gisey is in fact a genius when it comes to battleship design and has a photographic memory. She memorized the layout of the enemy’s flagship, and was miffed that they did some remodeling. There was a scene in the lift were she quickly flipped through an updated copy a plotted their route to the bridge, which gave them the updated info they needed for their plan to succeed.

Millia, like I said, is a princess and, when we are first introduced to her, is all she is. Over the first few episodes, Millia changes from a generic self centered damsel-in-distress type princess to someone that is kind and mature. While she has realize she don’t have much power to change what has happened to her, instead of wallowing in it, she is determined to move forward, with Fam’s and Gisey’s help.

Not only are Fam, Gisey, and Millia great indivudually, I absolutely love their interactions. Fam and Gisey are basically as close are you can get, short of openly being lovers, both relying on each other. Fam often says she believes “we” can do it, referring to Gisey and herself. When Millia asked Fam why she is exposing herself to so much danger on her behalf, Fam replies it’s because she wants to see Millia smile.

2) Return of some fan favorites:

While not a direct sequel to the original Last Exile, a number of fan favorite secondary characters return. The first we are introduced to is Dio Eracles, who joined the sky pirates a number of months before. While as of episode 4 it’s not clear why he joined the pirates, it seems that his role is to bring about the meeting of Fam and Gisey with the next two returning characters – the two I am most excited about, Tatiana Wisla and Alister Agrew. In this world, Tatiana and Alister command a legendary battleship, the Silvius. Nicknamed “The Reaper,” it’s said that it first appeared two years ago, destroyed an Ades fleet, and disappeared. The first meeting between Fam, Gisey, Tatiana, and Alister is really nothing short of epic.

3) The looming threat is more direct and real to the characters:

While there are some plot elements that are similar to the first series, the tone of the series is rather different, in a good way. In the first four episodes, which cover less than 72 hours in time, it has been made abundantly clear that this series is going to going to be darker then the first series. The second episode, without giving too much away, introduces a disaster that directly and personally affects one of the female leads. People on some of the boards I frequent noted this was a “wham” episode that you would expect half or most of the way though the series.

While the first series takes place against a world that is ending, it didn’t seem to directly have a gut punching effect any of the main characters like episode two did, which basically ends with the reaction shot of a one of the leads watching her world crumble around her. Then again, this personal disaster is the catalyst for a lot of the development of Fam, Gisey, and Millia. You can describe the arc of the episodes 01 to 04 as:

Episode 01: Cool action, kind of what I expected.

Episode 02: Holy shit, they wouldn’t! Holy shit, they did! Holy shit, that is dark!

Episode 03: A wonderful bit character development and a truly emotionally moving last few minutes to allow the characters to come to terms.

Episode 04: Hell ya, this is epic, Tatiana and Alister are awesome!

In conclusion:

While I started watching originally simply because I had watched the first season, I wasn’t particularly expecting anything amazing. Right now can honestly say I haven’t been as excited to see what happens next in a series in a long time.

Ratings:

Art, Character design: 8 – Fam, Gisey, and Millia do have some moe style elements to their character design, but at the same time their design is interesting, unique, and not moe blob at all. Tatiana and Alister are cool and mature.
Art, Mechanical design: 7 – The whole world really exists for the purpose of supporting Range Murata’s unique mechanical designs. Your enjoyment might vary depending on how much you enjoy the steampunk/dieselpunk design aesthetic.

Characters: 8 – Like I said, I absolutely love Fam, Gisey, and Millia.

Story: 8 – I have loved a lot of series, but it’s been a while since I been so excited to see what comes next.

Yuri: 4.5 to 5 – It might be the fanboy in me, but honestly by episode 04 the series seems to heading towards Fam and Millia as a couple. Then again it’s already been established Gisey really is Fam’s most important person.

Service: 2 – Slight bit of fan service, mostly boiled down to Fam’s old fashion underwear we see her in a couple times and Liliana is maybe naked from the waist down the first time we see her, but we really can’t see anything. It’s actually in line with the first season.

Overall: 8

If you looking for an action orientated series with awesome female leads, Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing will fit the bill nicely.

Erica here:  Thanks again for the review! I’ve linked to Hulu, where you can watch this in English, for free, legitimately along with me. Post-watching the first few episode, I’d put the Service score much higher. The first episode fills the camera with panty shots, completely obliterating  any bonds of female friendship for me.





K-ON! Anime, Volume 2 (English)

November 20th, 2011

Although I already reviewed Volume 3 of the K-ON! anime, I finally had time to sit down and enjoy the supersonic movement of the year with the girls in K-ON!, Volume 2. From their first school festival, (and getting Sawako-sensei as their faculty advisor,) to a whole new school year and a new member, all in a few short episodes.

I love the gags about Sawako-sensei’s years in the Light Music Club. Something about the idea that she was once a heavy metal rocker cracks me up.

For fans of the series, the important point of this volume is the appearance of Azusa, her experience seeing the Light Music Club the very first time and being totally blown away. And, really, who wouldn’t be? They are ridiculously cute and their music is fun and goofy.

As for Yuri, other than the relationships fans have made up in their head…there is none. And that’s okay by me, honestly. This series works best when it’s about a bunch of friends in a band.

Ratings:

Art- 7
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Yuri – 0
Service – 4

Overall – 8

The K-ON! Movie is debuting on December 3rd in Japan, so I expect we’ll be seeing more of the girls for some time to come. No complaints from me. I’m looking forward to some new songs, too. ^_^

Thanks once more to Okazu Superhero Eric P. for his kindness and generosity in sponsoring this review! To join the list of Okazu Heros and Superheros on the right-hand sidebar here, just purchase something from the Okazu Yuri Wishlist, and you too will enter the Hall of Heroes!





Shin Koihime Muso The Complete Collection Anime, Disk 2 (English)

November 16th, 2011

Is it worse when Disk 2 of Shin Koihime Muso digresses into an entire episode of Bachou needing to go to the bathroom or attempts to actually deal with Ryuubi’s ragtag army of heroes defeating the Yellow Turban revolt…with a sing-off? Honestly, I don’t know.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 6
Characters – Every time I watch this series, I notice that the statue of Guan Yu we have here, his eyes get all cold and menacing….
Yuri – Sousou and her various adoring henchicks
Series – I’ve started to think differently about this series. I want to believe that there are remarkably few people who find this all sexy, and more who simply find it amusing.

Overall – 2, except for bits here and there that get up as high as 5.

The important thing is, that Shin Koihime Musou ~ Otome Tairan is actually better, at least in my memory.





Yuri Anime: Shin Koihime Muso (English), Disk 1

November 4th, 2011

In 1951, photographer Ruth Orkin had an idea for a photograph. When she met student Jinx Allen, she knew she had found her model. The resulting photograph “American Girl in Italy” is now iconic. (For the full story of this photo, read An Image of Innocence Abroad from Smithsonian Magazine.)

Take a look at this photo. Click it to see it as large as you can.

Note the look on the woman’s face. Does it look pained, concerned? Scared? Now look at the men around her. Note them staring openly at her, with what they probably think is admiration.

Women readers – how does this picture make you feel? Men, how about you?

The feeling I get upon viewing this picture is the same feeling I feel when I watch Shin Koihime Muso. It makes me cringe.

There is Yuri in Shin Koihime Musou. Sousou only takes women to bed, she’s got the hots for Kanu. Kakuka lusts after Sousou. But that doesn’t change the fact that there are people out there getting turned on by the excruciating service in this series and it just makes me cringe with embarrassment for them, and for myself.

The Chou brothers have been turned into the Chou sisters who become pop idols. By episode 5, after we had heard that one song 6 times in less than 30 minutes, I put the sound on mute for a bit. That helped.

Ratings:

Art – Moe
Story – Peasant uprising against despots/fans of pop idols rioting. So similar.
Characters – It’s not their fault
Yuri – 3
Service – There are not enough numbers in the universe

Overall – For me, an excruciating 3. For fans of the series 8

I just have to keep reminding myself that, of the three Koihime series, this was by far the worst, and that, although it was hardly good, Otome Tairan was less bad and had better Yuri.