August 27, 2008

H2O~Footprints in the Sand~

H2O~Footprints in the Sand~

Original Creator: Makura
Production by: ZEXCS

Adapted from a manga: kind of. (see comparison below)
Movies: none
Live Action: none
OAVs: none

Genre: romance, psychological, drama, comedy, supernatural, slice-of-life, harem
Number of Episodes: 12

ANN's Plot summary: "Takuma Hirose, a blind young male high school student, though the cause for his blindness is undetermined. After his mother died an unexpected death, it left a deep emotional scar on him, which caused him to become very lonely and reserved. Due to this, Takuma and his father move from the city out into a rural area and Takuma is enrolled into a new high school. At his new school, he meets several new girls, though three of whom he gets to know the most out of anyone else. They are, the firm and obstinate Hayami Kohinata, the kind and obliging Hinata Kagura, and the cheerful and mysterious Otoha. As Takuma interacts with these girls, his medical condition gradually begins to heal. "

My Ranking: 2 hoshi
My Rating: PG
This series is a mite dramatic not to mention a bit tragic so.....yeah. As for impropriety there are multiple flashing scenes not to mention a few nose-bleed inducing instances.(one guy, bunch of girls....yeah. you get the idea) other than that its okay.

My Review: I honestly do not know how I should feel about this series. Of course that doesn't leave me without an opinion, it just makes the production of one more difficult to put into words. I was told this series was very sad and at first I didn't see it. Unfortunately I soon saw that it was. The story, while sometimes a bit jumbled and unclear, is very touching and melancholy. Its progression is very steady in the sense that even though each episode takes the focus of one of the characters it doesn't interfere with the plot. While there may be instances when you'll wonder 'was that really necessary? or was it there for filler?' well, most likely its not. I have to believe that underneath, the creators have an incredible sense of humor while producing such a melodramatic series. This is was proved in some necessary comic relief in episode 8. Good thing too because after that there isn't much of a let up in emotion.

What I particularly liked about this series was that the characters were more well rounded than those in most anime. The characters weren't one sided, fitting into a type, but nearly all of them had both good sides and personal conflict. This allows the series its emotion by not having a character that will make everything alright with the spout of a few words of wisdom. Each one may help the other but sooner or later have their own conflict to deal with. Its like I said before, this series doesn't waste anything. Everything has its own little purpose for happening.

Though this series may be sad or melodramatic it doesn't leave a gnawing, need for closure feeling. You might feel bad or clench your desk in anger but the series leaves room for acceptance. All in all, this series introduced me to a new potential for anime. It was something out of the ordinary for me and I have to admit that I enjoyed it while I still don't know quite what to think of it.

Comparison: Like's been said above, this series was first an adult game for the PC then converted into a manga, then an anime, finally ending with a game for the PS2 with removed adult content. The manga is only two volumes long and is not licensed while the anime was just made so. The anime was subbed by Bakawolf-m.3.3.w subs.

Sample vid: sorry no vid again. This series is short so its hard to find an amv without spoilers let alone one that's any good. Not to mention that this anime is fairly new so its not to well known yet.

August 15, 2008

AMV of the Week 7

well im currently reading like five manga series and am watching an anime of the book im supposed to read for summer reading. haha. it will be interesting when i actually read the book afterwards. sorry i wont be writing any reaviews till i finish it though since its going to take forever to get the Keshin movie i want to watch for the sake of reviewing it. i accidently watched the OAV reflection before which was depressing because i should have watched the other OAV first. sigh. spoilage. oh well. ive been fervently trying to scour my brothers amv collection in the attempt to bring in something new so here are the slightly too ripe fruits of my effort.

Hubba Hubba Zoot Zoot


August 13, 2008

Genres and Themes of Anime/Manga

While like any other type of media/literature, anime and manga have been placed into general genres. However there are many other themes and categories that anime and manga are placed in. Most of these specific terms are difficult to understand considering their Japanese origin but this list of definitions I hope can help create a better interpretation.
Most of these are thanks to the Anime article from wikipedia.org. I do not lay claim to any of these definitions in quotes, but will only allow myself to expand on these in my own words.

"Major Genres"

"Action/Adventure primarily focuses on battles, war, and physical competition. Martial arts, weapon fighting, or other action oriented material are usually featured. Examples: Naruto or One Piece."

"Drama primarily has a high degree of character development and emotional themes. Many center on relationship complications. Examples: Fushigi Yūgi or Kare Kano. "

"Game Based primarily revolves around some sort of card or board game. Examples: Yu-Gi-Oh! or Hikaru no Go. "

"Horror use darker and/or supernatural themes. Examples: Vampire Hunter D series or Chrono Crusade. "

"Science fiction consists of futuristic elements, particularly featuring future science and technology. They can be drawn from current scientific studies and inventions or created to meet the needs of the world. Examples: Ghost in the Shell or Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise "

"Progressive or "Art films" are extremely stylized. Examples: Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei or 5 Centimeters Per Second. "

"Demographic" Themes
These give a clear understanding of the audience the series is intended for.

"Shōjo is Japanese for "young lady" or "little girl". These are generally targeted at girls. Examples: Fruits Basket or Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch."

"Shōnen is Japanese for "young boy". Examples: Dragon Ball Z or Digimon."

"Seinen is Japanese for "young man" and normally includes teenage or young male adults. Examples: Oh My Goddess! or Cowboy Bebop "

"Josei is Japanese for "woman". Examples: Gokusen or Honey and Clover."

"Kodomo is Japanese for "child". All children's series fall into this category. Examples: Hello Kitty or Hamtaro. "

"Thematic" Genres

"Bishōjo is Japanese for "beautiful girl", and a blanket term that features pretty girl characters. Sometimes conflated with Moè. Examples: Magic Knight Rayearth or Negima."

"Bishōnen is Japanese for "beautiful boy", and a blanket term that can be used to describe any anime that features "pretty" and elegant boys and men. Examples: Fushigi Yūgi or The Wallflower."

"Sentai is literally a "fighting team" in Japanese. It refers to any show that involves a superhero team. Examples: Cyborg 009 or Voltron. "

"Robot/Mecha features real robots or super robots. Examples: Mobile Suit Gundam or Mazinger Z respectively." Full Metal Panic is also another example.

"Post-Apocalyptic simply deals with a post-apocalyptic world. Examples: Fist of the North Star or Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. "

"Mahō shōjo is a subgenre of shōjo known for "Magical Girl" stories. These stories involves teenage or pre-teen girls who receive magical accessories that allows them to transform into magical warriors. Most magical girl anime involves a girl reciting a phrase before undergoing an intricate transformation sequence which shows the girl being magically dressed or an magical artifact forming it's shape into the girl's hand. These sequences are collectively known in anime as henshin. Examples: Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura. "

"Mahō shōnen is a male equivalent of Mahō Shōjo. Examples: D.N.Angel or Fullmetal Alchemist "

"Moé features characters with perky, cute, weak, or naïve behaviors. In some way, they are not overly independent.Examples: A Little Snow Fairy Sugar. "

"Expertise specializes with a specific topic in depth. Topics range from sports, the arts, and cooking. Examples: Eyeshield 21 with football, or Yakitate!! Japan with bread-making. "

"Lolicon ("Lolita Complex") is the sexualization of under-aged female characters, the name coming from the titular character of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita. Example: Kodomo no Jikan"

"Shotacon ("Shōtarō Complex") is the sexualization of under-aged male characters, the name coming from the lead child actor from Tetsujin-nijūhachi-gō. Example: Papa to Kiss in the Dark "

  • One thing I've noticed about the loli and shota themes is that it doesn't necessarily mean the person is under-aged, just that they look it. For example: Honey from "Ouran Host Club" or Konata from "Lucky Star" who are both in High School but are called 'Loli' because of their appearance to be much younger.

"Harem is a genre which focuses on a male character surrounded by the romance of multiple female characters. Typically, the male cohabits with at least one female. It is usually marketed as a Shōnen or Seinen. Examples: Ranma ½ or Love Hina. "

"Reverse Harem reverses the gender balance in harem, where a female character is romantically involved with many male characters. It is more often than not a Shōjo or Josei Anime. Examples: Ouran High School Host Club or Fruits Basket."

"Magical girlfriend is more accurately termed Exotic Girlfriend. This genre focuses on the romantic relationship (and cohabitation) between a man and at least one woman of extraordinary origins such as alien (Tenchi Muyo!, Urusei Yatsura), supernatural (Oh My Goddess!), or technological (Chobits). Often considered a subgenre of Harem."

"Ecchi is Japanese for "indecent sexuality", derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the letter "H", (the origin of the term is not well known, even in Japan. See main article for more information.) Sexual humor and fan service are prevalent. Examples: Oruchuban Ebichu or He Is My Master. "

"Hentai is Japanese for "abnormal" or "perverted". This term is synonymous to pornography or erotica, as hentai content specifically consists of such. Examples: La Blue Girl or Bible Black."

"Shōjo-ai or Yuri is Japanese for "girl-love". These focus on love and romance between female characters. It is often being replaced by the term "Girls Love" (GL). Yuri is like Shōjo-ai, but sometimes involves older characters or explicit sexual activity. Examples: Revolutionary Girl Utena or Kannazuki no Miko."

"Shōnen-ai is Japanese for 'boy-love'. These focus on love and romance between male characters. The term "Shōnen-ai" is being phased out in Japan due to its other meaning of pederasty, and is being replaced by the term "Boys Love" (BL). Examples: Loveless or Gravitation"

"Yaoi is like "Shōnen-ai" but often involving older characters and explicit sexual activity. Examples: Sensitive Pornograph or Until the Full Moon"

Hope this was helpful to any new or curious fans.
If you'd like a second opinion on some of these definitions I recommend 'Lexicon' from ANN.

August 5, 2008

AMV of the Week 6

hmmmm.....not much to say. is it possible to become addicted to the light and funny genre of anime. I'd say I'm already there. though I do admit I've been away from shonen for too long wallowing in all this shojo stuff. I just watched a very shonen OAV and I nearly fell apart. oy. Ive become weak. (but it was pretty sad) must.....build.....back......resilient defenses. sigh. I just like to laugh to much I'd say.
I need to raid my brothers amv stash. seriously. we need some good stuff on here. this amv is okay. the first time I watched I was like meh. but after watching it a few more times. I like it now. enjoy the randomness.

Ouran High School Host Club - Witch Doctor AMV