Kara No Kyoukai-The Garden of Sinners

Kara no Kyoukai-The Garden of Sinners
12/2007-8/2009
Genre: Horror, supernatural, romance, mystery
Rating-somewhere between Pg-13-R..although leaning heavily toward R (Sexual situations,gore, and just insanity)
Animation Production: Ufotable
Distributor: Aniplex





Kara no Kyoukai-The Garden of Sinners first premiered in Japan in December 2007. But the series itself started in the form of a novella that was released as a dojin in 1998 by Kinoko Nasu and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi. The novella was later published by Type-moon then Kodansha in Japan while in America it was published by Del Ray Manga.

The plot summary for the series as a whole is "Mikiya Kokuto finds himself intrigued by two things. The first is by Shiki Ryougi a beautiful, yet rather unsociable, girl and the other is the strange series of violent deaths that start occuring in his town. As he attempts to get closer to Shiki, he soon learns that the two are connected and that there are many supernatural forces at work which could very likely get him killed as well." Which turns out to be kinda true.

The series is split up into seven movies with the seventh being released this August.The movie titles in the order they came out are; Fukan Fukei, Satsujin Kosatsu, Tsukaku Zanryu, Garan no Dou, Mujun Rasen Boukyaku Rokuon, and Satsujin Kosatsu prt 2. Another interesting thing about the movies are that they are intentionally being shown out of order. The first movie is the third movie and the first one is...I don't know really I'm only up to the fifth movie which has the most awesome action scenes thus far, there's speculation that it's the last movie.

The movies are awesome but if you like lots of action and hardly any talk then this series is not for you. Throughout maybe the hour of movie there will only be one action scene but lots of talking and storytelling. It's not insufferable talking but after seeing the one fight scene you want to see more.

The music is also great. It's composed by one of my favorite composers Yuki Kaijura (did music for; Mai Hime, .Hack//SIGN, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles and .hack//Liminality among others). The music is fantastic throughout conveying the mood for every scene spectacularly.

At the end, I love this movie so far and I can't wait to see how it ends. The only thing that I would notify people of is that if you get grossed out easily, you may not want to see this movie because there are some gruesome images of limbs/people being sliced apart among other things. But if that doesn't bother you than by all means.The dvd is supposed to be released stateside late this summer definitely so buy it or have someone else buy it for you! After watching the trailer below of course. Until next time!!

Pack the Cars, buses and trains! Anime Convention season is here!!!

Yup! It's Anime Convention time!! If you're an otaku that lives on the east coast then you're most likely waiting anxiously for Otakon. Otakon is the biggest anime convention along on the east coast and is definitely getting bigger and bigger as the years go on. Apparently it started off as a small convention in State College PA but it exploded into the insanity that it is today. One event that attracted a hhuuggee amount of people into downtown Baltimore was the news that L'arc En Ciel, a popular and well known Jrock band, would be performing at Otakon in 2004. From the stories I've heard from friends who went, the line stretched on for blocks.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. If you love anime and you're room is stocked better than most stores then you have to make the unforgettable journey to a convention at least once in your life. What sets anime cons apart from sci-fi and fantasy cons is that the whole venue is devoted to anime and video games that otaku play and love. There is LARP (Live Action Role Play), Anime Music videos(AMV), and all day anime screenings. The convention lasts over the weekend and usually has a Japanese artist do a concert for one evening during the weekend.

Some bands who have crossed the atlantic or Pacific oceans to perform at these events are Mucc, Despairs Ray, L'arc en Ciel, Kalafina, and Duel Jewel; to name a few. By doing these performances the artist expose themselve to an american public and gain a few fans in the process.

Some of the biggest cons in the US are; Anime Expo (San Diego, CA), Nekocon (Hampton, VA), Comic-con International: San Diego (um..San Diego, CA), and Otakon (Baltimore, MD). The bigger the convention the better the vendors are as well as the performers. Oh! And apparently if you stay and help the vendors clean up you can get free stuff! Don't know if this is true...but it is confirmed from one who went to a con last year.So Good Luck... :)

Anime Convention are super fun and you can buy awesome stuff from kimonos to Japanese music albums and cheap/rare anime & artbooks!!! So much yaoi!!! >0< but anywayz... :). If you can afford the registration fees (from $40-$70) than cover transportation then definitely go and enjoy this event. You'll leave with memories you'll never forget as well as memories you'll want to forget! One word "Fat Faye"...

Kurokami-The animation

For the past few weeks I have been watching this really great anime called Kurokami- The Animation. What got me interested in this was the image to your left.It looked cool so I thought,
"okay! let's see what this is about!"
annnddd it's...interesting to say the least.
The story begins with this guy named Keita. When he was young his mother got ran over by a car because she seen another woman who looked just like her; so because of his mother's death keita believes that there are dopplegangers which exist out in the world and if you come across one than your dead....Right...
So I'm thinking is he crazy or something but then we find out that he isn't. He later meets up with a short unassuming, hungry, girl named Kuro and her dog that hides out in her jacket. She turns out to be what's called a terra gaurdian. The terra gaurdian is vastly stronger from other humans, which is evident in the way she fights. They also observe the human world by making sure that the balance of terra is maintained.

The animation in this series is awesome! The first fight in episode one just looks like a crazy fight combo scene from a video game. And the animation holds up really well. The animation production is by sunrise who have produces a few of the animes I have reviewed so far (Code Geass, Mai Hime...). And I have really grown up on anime that sunrise has produced and their work is of high quality.

My only gripe with the series so far is that the characters are cookie cut characters.What I mean is they are just those same character types that we see in every other anime. The main character keita is basically the nice-but-distant-guy-who-doesn't-let-others-get-close-to-him because-they-only-end-up-leaving-you character. While the female lead is the ditzy-always hungry-random-dog-carrying girl. She at one time annoys the crap outta of you but at the same she's the coolest and most powerful character.



Kurokami is interesting...but I'm still waiting for it to break away from the cookie aspect of it's characters and story. So for now I am midly interested.

The Righteous Insanity that is Code Geass!

:looks at calendar: Well! Would you look at that! This would be my second post in a week!! 0_O :O!! So surprising!!! What's the occassion? Well not only is there stuff to talk about I am also done school and can now make this blog a priority. Yaaayyyy!!! But moving on with the post.


So yeah, I've been watching crazy Lelouch on Code Geass-Lelouch of the Rebellion- R2 which is being aired on Cartoon Networks' Adult Swim and it is the best shit EVER!!
Basic backdrop of the story is "The Empire of Britannia has invaded Japan using giant robot weapons called Knightmare Frames. Japan is now referred to as Area 11, and its people the 11's. A Britannian who was living in Japan at the time, Lelouch, vowed to his Japanese friend Suzaku that he'd destroy Britannia. Years later, Lelouch is in high school, but regularly skips out of school to go play chess and gamble on himself. One day, he stumbles on terrorists 11's who've stolen a military secret and is caught by a member of the Britannian task force sent after them, who is Suzaku. As the rest of the squad arrives, Suzaku is shot for disobeying orders, while the military's secret, a young girl, gives Lelouch the power of Geass, which makes anyone obey any order. While Suzaku is secretly made the pilot of Britannia's brand new prototype Knightmare, Lancelot, Lelouch becomes the masked Zero to lead the rebellion to destroy Britannia once and for all." -Anime News NetworkThe character designs for the anime are by CLAMP whose long and flowy style is evident in the anime designs. The manga on the other hand was done by Majiko (Art) and Goro Taniguchi and Ichiro Okouchi (story). Personally, I love the anime so much because the art is awesome. I love CLAMP XD! And also the story is the best story I've experienced on a Gundam Wing level.

The first season takes itself very seriously by playing all kinds of political and strategic plot twists on the part of Zero and Britannia. Everything is done for a reason and many lives are lost for this reason. Zero fights for a better world for his sister to live in and everyone who lives in that world comes in dead last in his eyes. He is one of the coldest calculating characters I have seen but there are times when you love him and when you feel honestly bad for what happens to him. But things really don't get moving until the second season. It's this time when we find out what happened to Lelouch and his sister and also more about their parents. I wish I could say more but anything else would just be a spoiler.

When it comes to the mecha scenes the mechs are different. Their a bit blocky at first but as the series goes on they become more streamlined and awesome looking. My faves the guren and Lancelot. Very sexy :)!!

Code Geass is not be missed! It's a great addition to any anime collection, although it's more of a drama anime than it is a mech anime. But if you don't mind that then I promise you it's a goody!
It's available to watch on cable/satellite on cartoon network's Adult Swim Sunday at 1 am and online on various websites.

Yes an Update finally!

Hey you guys!! I'm back and with the latest news in the anime world. Probably one of the most anticipated animes this spring/summer season is Full Metal Alchemist-Brotherhood. There are probably many of you who think that is a re-make of the original series by the same name leaving out the "Brotherhood" part. The original series recieved many awards and accolades both in the U.S and Japan. It won awards ranging for best anime theme song( "Rewrite" by Asian Kung Fu Generation) and in the Tokyo Anime Fair the series won in the categories of "best series", "animated feature of the year" (Conqueror of Shambala), and "best music".
What made Full Metal Alchemist so special is how deeply it touches human emotions, as well as the quality of the animation and music. The music was done by such well known bands such as; Porno Graffiti, L'arc en Ciel, and Asian Kung Fu Generation. The series also went on to be translated into many different languages such as tagalong, portuguese, italian, and german to name a few. Both the manga and Anime ended up doing very well abroad.

For those who don't know, Full Metal Alchemist revolves around two brothers named Ed and Al Elric. They perform a taboo against the laws of Alchemy by trying to bring their dead mother back to life. As a result Al, the youngest brother loses his body and Ed, the eldest brother, loses his right arm and left leg trying to affix his brother's spirit to a suit of armor. The brothers set out on a journey to retrieve their bodies back at the cost of their lives by becoming state alchemist or "dogs of the military". The boys are relatively young at 11 and 12 at the beginning of the series and they see and experience alot of life/death struggles. Ed almost dies in his first mission as state alchemist and Al has issues with identity and whether or not he lives by his own free will. The series has some heavy moments at times and some episodes really pulled at your heartstrings. But the anime succeeded because there was a balance between depressing and happy/funny episodes. There was also little to no filler, which was a godsend, and the story was immensely engrossing. Even though they wasted no time in reminding you why they were doing what they doing. "We're going to get our bodies back one day Al!!!" -__-....

When talk began about another Full Metal Alchemist anime there was both a collection of groans and moans from fans and otaku alike. "Oh no!! Not another redo!!" especially after the "Rebuild of Eva" movies, which is not to say that they were bad they were quite awesome really! But to say that recently anime has turned into taking an already established series and just adding or remaking it in order to milk more out of the franchise. And even though this might be happening with Full Metal it looks like this series deserves it. The only problem with doing this is that bar is set so high that the remake has to be as good if not better than the original. So here's hoping for the best!!!

From the first episode on all the character that you know and love are already established and there's even an introduction of a state alchemist that was not introduced in the original series. This new inception is supposed to follow the manga more strictly so it should be interesting to those who have not read the manga yet. I think that "Brotherhood" picks up at the time when the brothers are on their quest to restore their bodies and Mustang knows this.
So far I think that Brotherhood will be a cool addition to the series and with backers like Square Enix and Sony, to name a few, it should look and keep looking amazing.
If you are interested in checking out this out Funimation actually has episodes posted on their website at Funimation-Full Metal Alchemist-Brotherhood.
Not ready to commit well here's a trailer for you! Enjoy!

It;s Spring Time...

I love this time of year...the sakura trees are blooming and we move from bleak dreary winter into color explosion of spring. It makes me happy! :sits while drinking tea:

As far as anime... I've been watching a few stuff...


Recently made a purchase of the Mai Hime box or collection since it's not really a box set per se... Which kinda pisses me off cuz the anime is so awesome!! XD It's basically about this girl Mai and her brother. They are on their way to Fuuka Gakuen (Fuuka Academy). On the ferry ride to school they meet a set of interesting characters and then chaos insumes! There are metal wolves, little girl with gigantic sword, girl with huge boobs and random sister/brother combo! And it only gets crazier from there! I want so much to go into everything else that happens but that would be spoiler alerts so bad... But what I can say is that this anime is not one to be missed.

It's by Sunrise the same people that did the gundam Seed, Code Geass-Lelouch of the Rebellion, among other great stuff!!! So this company does great stuff as far as animation is concerned.

The box retails for $40 US dollars at your local video retailer! But if your money is tight in these troubled times than you can trylooking online for it. Don't know how much luck you'll have but it's worth it. Oh! And keep watching all the way through!!! You'll know what I mean when you watch it ;).
Off to do homework! Until next time!!

Gomen Nasai!!

Good Evening everyone! I apologize for having this post come like a month after the first. I've been busy with school and being a senior in college is almost as bad as being a senior in high school...almost. Oops! Look at that. Gave you guys a little tid bit about me ;). It won't happen again...or will it! *suspicious look* Anywayz!!!!

Like I said in the previous post I wanted to include some pics from the upcoming animes that are slated to be released over here in the states. SSssoooo on with the show!! Oh! And little disclaimer. NONE OF THESE IMAGES BELONG TO ME THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTED CREATORS ENTIRELY!!!!!! I gets no money from these whatsoever o_O...

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1.0-You Are Not Alone
and trailer cuz the picture does not do it justice... :D :D


Bamboo Blade-

And the opening sequence. Just because...



El Cazador de la Bruja~ Just a random spanish title..but the anime sounds cool though. And it's also done by the same people that did the .hack// series.


















The opening sequence which I thought was kinda weird.


So here it is post number 2. Please wait anxiously for post number 3! Many awesome things await. And don't forget to leave comments! Comments are my sugar and they help me to stay alive... .__. really they do....