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2010/09/23
Anime Wallpaper : Naruto Wallpaper
Anime Wallpaper : Naruto Wallpaper 14
Tsunade Wallpaper, Gaara Wallpaper, Sakura Wallpaper
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Tsunade Wallpaper, Gaara Wallpaper, Sakura Wallpaper
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2010/09/22
Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 24 ENG SUB
Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 24 ENG SUB
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Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 22-23 ENG SUB
Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 22-23 ENG SUB
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Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 21 ENG SUB
Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 21 ENG SUB
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Watch Online Anime : Black Rock Shooter Episode 1 ENG SUB
Watch Online Anime : Black Rock Shooter Episode 1 ENG SUB
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Watch Online Anime : Bleach ENG SUB
Watch Online Anime : Bleach ENG SUB
15 year old Kurosaki Ichigo is not your everyday high school student. He has from as far he can remember always had the ability to see ghosts and spirits. A fateful day arrives as Ichigo encounters the shinigami Kuchiki Rukia, who saves him and his family from a Hollow at the cost of injuring herself. During this encounter, with Rukia unable to defeat the hollow she transfers her shinigami powers into Ichigo. In the aftermath, unable to continue with her job, Rukia allows Ichigo to take on the role of a shinigami in her place as they together defeat the Hollows plaguing Ichigo's town. Based on the manga by Tite Kubo.
Bleach Episode 1
Bleach Episode 2
Bleach Episode 3
Bleach Episode 4
Bleach Episode 5
Anime Wallpaper : Kaichou wa Maid Sama Wallpaper
Anime Wallpaper : Kaichou wa Maid Sama 01
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The Anime Review : Xam'd Lost Memories DVD - Collection 1
Synopsis:
Sentan Island has generally maintained a peaceful isolation from the warring Northern Government and Southern Continent Free Zone. Akiyuki lives there with his divorced parents and schoolmates Furuichi and Haru, but his peaceful life is shattered when a white-haired girl whom he helps get on a bus turns out to be a suicide bomber. In the wake of the resulting explosion the girl implants Akiyuki with a gemlike hiruko, which turns him into a Xam'd, a mecha-like monster who quickly attracts the attention of an assault force of Northern Government biomechs called Humanforms. Most who become Xam'd soon turn to stone, but Akiyuki is saved from such a fate by Nakiami, a young woman skilled in subduing Xam'd and helping them to master their powers. Forced away from Sentan Island, Akiyuki soon finds himself working on Nakiami's home, the postal airship Zanbani, under her watchful eye. Eventually he also gets help from another Xam'd Nakiami once saved, one who is farther down the path of controlled symbiosis. Akiyuki still aspires to make a return trip to Sentan Island at least once more, however, while Nakiami has her own problems looming in her former homeland.
Meanwhile, back on Sentan Island, Haru joins the Mainsoul military section (an anti-Humanform unit) in an effort to find and be reunited with Akiyuki. Her pining for Akiyuki strains her relationship with Furuichi, who also joins but winds up taking his duties much more seriously. As he progresses through his training, he starts to see Akiyuki less as a friend and more as a barrier to his own interest in Haru. When he and Akiyuki eventually reunite, sparks will fly.
Review:
Xam'd represents something of a breakthrough in series anime: a major production whose original release was not via traditional methods such as TV, movie theaters, or hard-copy video release. Instead, it debuted as part of Sony's inaugural launch of the PLAYSTATION Network video download service at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in the U.S. in June 2008. It did receive a Japanese TV broadcast in April of 2009, but its first exposure as a download effectively makes it an ONA (original Net Animation). Doubtless it will not remain a unique case for long. It further distinguishes itself by being one of the first initial-release anime titles to be dubbed by Sentai Filmworks, reaffirming a long-overdue return to dubbed initial-release anime for the company.
While Xam'd is technically an original BONES production, the influence that past anime titles have had on this one is eminently clear in nearly every aspect of the story and artistry. A veteran anime fan cannot watch the series without drawing parallels between Nakiami and Miyazaki's Nausicaä; the sky sled (called a kayak) which Nakiami flies around on even evokes memories of Nausicaä's glider. Miyazaki influences are also in evidence elsewhere, especially in the cat/rabbit Roppa and the designs of certain spirit-like creatures. Numerous story elements are more than just vaguely reminiscent of BONES' own Eureka 7, while some of the vehicle designs, building designs, and animation styles may remind some of Wings of Honneamise. Other story elements have popped up in numerous other anime, including best friends who become enemies essentially over mutual interest in a girl, a young woman who helps a young man manage powers which can monstrously transform him, joining the military with the goal of pursuing a lost loved one, and bioweapon-centered fights. In fact, for as fresh and interesting as the series looks, it actually does very little in its first half that is fresh.
Akiyuki is ostensibly the main character, and definitely gets the lion's share of screen time early on, but as the first half of the series progresses it gradually moves towards a near-even split between what is happening with the crew of the Zanbani and what is going on back on Sentan Island. The former, for all of its attempts to be lively, is pretty formulaic stuff save for the distinctive way that Nakiami goes about dealing with Humanforms and Xam'd. The latter primarily focuses on either Haru and Furuichi or a military officer who comes to Sentan Island to supervise a secret project involving Xam'd, though it also finds time to showcase Akiyuki's parents, too – and that, in fact, may be the series' most unusual move, as anime protagonists of late-high school age with intact and involved parents are actually fairly rare. The vaguely religious Ruikonists, with their creepily similar appearances and unfathomable goals, pop up in both settings to provide interesting complications, though they are present too little in this run of episodes to determine how they fit into the bigger picture beyond turning certain characters into Xam'd.
While the writing may not offer much to entice prospective viewers, the visuals are the series' bigger draw anyway. Though BONES dials back on the animation effort level in later episodes, the earliest episodes are wonders to behold. It isn't so much that they do anything visually spectacular as that they feature a richness of motion typically only seen in movies and other top-budget titles; compare the first couple of episodes to a typical anime TV series episode, with its time-and-budget-saving economy of motion, and the contrast becomes clear. The high-quality animation allows for some impressive early action scenes and respectable later ones, all done with little or no obvious reliance on CG effects, while also showing nice touches on a smaller scale in the unusually animate faces of many characters.
The conceptual visual design of the series also helps set it apart. This is a distinctive setting whose general tech level is equivalent to the mid-20th century but which is spiced up with hyper-advanced biological warfare capabilities, mecha-like fighting units, and flying ships powered by some quasi-magical element. Simple things like buses show a great attention to creative detail, airship designs are inventive, and the background artistry is not shy about using extremely cluttered settings. Designs for the Humanforms are quite eye-catching, with their rounded, bloblike shapes, bold color patterns, and unusual methods for making ranged attacks. (Their implosive attacks are also quite the spectacle.) The Xam'd designs are also distinctive but less special, except for the big one which looks like it has a baby in a kangaroo pouch; it is, in some respects, reminiscent of the aliens in Noein. Of the female character designs, the only one which truly stands out is Nakiami, whose melding of Princess Mononoke's San and Nausicaä gives her a simple, earthy beauty which does not have to rely on flashy costuming or fan service displays to appeal. The Zandani's crewman Akushiba, with his lanky, athletic build and long, thin face, stands out most among the male designs. Other efforts are more typical, though almost invariably well-drawn. Unfortunately, BONES also continues its long-standing practice of struggling with consistent quality control in its character rendering, even in the featured early episodes.
Music director Michiru Oshima, whose previous projects include Fullmetal Alchemist (the first TV series and movie) and Le Chevalier D'Eon, turns in another strong job here. Her soundtrack deftly mixes orchestrated and symphonic pieces (primarily in tense scenes) with recurring folksy themes (primarily in calmer, day-to-day events), creating a tone that is equal parts dramatic and laid-back rustic. This DVD release uses the same opener used for the TV series broadcast, the English-lyrics number “Shut Up and Explode” by Boom Boom Satellites, whose techno sound is so slick that it may captivate even those not normally fans of techno music. TV broadcast closer “Just Breathe” by Kylee closes out each episode with a solid rock beat set to English lyrics which aren't quite as finely-sung as the opener's.
The English dub pulls in some familiar names from the ADV talent pool who have not been heard much in the past couple of years, including Andy McAvin, Hilary Haag, Jessica Boone, and Rob Mungle. Casting decisions here are more interpretive than normal; Luci Christianseiyuu did, while newcomer Adam Von Wagoner uses an obnoxiously droll (but still fitting) vocal style for Akushiba and relative newcomer Chris Hutchinson gives Tojiro Kakisu (the commanding officer) a speaking style which hits the tone of the character right but uses an even, raspy delivery which may not sit well with some. By contrast, Blake Shepherd's Akiyuki is quite conformist. The English script should certainly raise no objections, as it sticks as close to the subtitles as is feasibly possible.
For the DVD release, Sentai Filmworks splits the 13 episodes across two disks. (A Blu-Ray version is also being released simultaneously but was not available for review.) The Extras, included on the first disk, consist of clean versions of the opener and closer used for this release and also for the alternate opener and closers used for the original PSN releases; though those alternate versions are decent numbers, they also feature graphics more squarely from the second half of the series and are completely upstaged by their TV broadcast counterparts anyway.
Xam'd: Lost Memories is probably going to list as a mecha series but actually has a feel more akin to a supernatural or fantasy series. Despite its tendency to ape other series and some bland stretches, it does sport some respectable writing and couples its visual appeal with a concerted effort at character development. That is enough to carry the series for now.
Grade:
Overall (dub) : B
Overall (sub) : B
Story : B
Animation : A-
Art : B+
Music : B+
+ Animation, character development, visual concepts.
− Very run-of-the-mill story execution at times, quality control issues in character rendering.
Product : Xam'd: Collection 1, Xam'd: Collection 1 [Blu-ray], Xam'd: Lost Memories Episodes
2010/09/21
2010/09/20
Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 17 ENG SUB
Watch Online Anime : Naruto Shippuuden Episode 17 ENG SUB
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The Anime Review : Tale of a White Night
Synopsis :
A demonic young girl collecting the limbs of corpses to create the perfect figure; a boarded up storehouse that hides a dozen violent secrets from the childhood of several men doomed to die along with them; a girl whose offerings of lunch will do little to persuade the aid of a group of fox spirits and an incorporeal pale-hand that seeks to lure those who can see it to their deaths.
Review:
Tale of a White Night is a one-shot collection of short stories – a compilation of tales connected by their elements of the supernatural and suspense, as well as a favoured choice of locale in the forest-covered mountains of Japan. These stories aren't likely to make readers lose any sleep but there's a high likelihood of being left wary of what could linger in the shadows.
The goal of each chapter, like many a good ghost story, isn't so much to scare you while you read, per say. Instead they stir up some suspense, toy with the maybes-and-what-ifs of reader's guesses and leave you with that sought-after unsettling feeling when you're done. The first story follows a young man staying up in the hills of a mountain said to be haunted by an oni in the guise of a beautiful girl. Rumors and legend say she collects corpses and uses them to create dolls. When the young man becomes a guest in that very girl's home, he learns what the collecting has truly been for and finds himself bound to be part of the assemblage. The build-up falls on the predictable side but the climatic execution still has its own surprises. Interestingly it doesn't end in the way one expects, though sort of feels like the author may've just changed their mind at the last minute and opted for a different kind of finish.
The following story is one of the book's best at suspense, though it doesn't necessarily equate to the most satisfying of endings. Or one that makes the most sense. Sure it's a little hair-raising but the journey itself is definitely the worthwhile portion of this trip – a story of young men dying one by one, connected by a storehouse in their childhood where they committed considerably more and more disturbing violent acts. What lays in that storehouse that's driven them to death? One man with vague memories of his childhood returns to find out.
Much more satisfying ending-wise is the next story where a young girl wanders a mountain trying to find her way to school. Fox spirits repeatedly try to inform her of the situation's futility while the girl nonetheless keeps wandering in hopes of finding the way out. The reason for her cycle is likely to become apparent to readers fairly early on yet the ending is more than poignant enough to make up for any predictability.
It's then that one must beware… the claw! Or not. The curse of choice in this story is that of a disembodied white hand that gestures to lead the unfortunate to their untimely ends at an equally cursed pond. The twist of sorts is the manner of which people die at the pond, specifics not divulged in leui of the importance of the by-whom over the by-what. A young man returns to this place, in part compelled by memories of the death of his cousin when he was a child. The physical similarities of her to his surviving cousin – sister to the deceased – brings about a nice and spine-chilling resolve, or at least as ‘resolved’ as a good ghost story is expected to be.
Suiting to the stories, but perhaps not to some readers' tastes, is the art style, a distinctly shoujo affair littered with lithe characters, carefully chosen details and wispy, wistful eyes gazing this way and that. It's a very beautiful style, one that compliments the mood of the stories greatly. It could prove however an earnest turn-off to horror-specific fans looking for a fix. Granted, the book itself isn't really specifically tailored to that particular crowd in the first place, maintaining a vibe reminiscent more closely to that of horror manga Pet Shop of Horrors than the classic genre-works of Kazuo Umezu or Kanako Inuki.
The last book in the story unfortunately leaves a far less positive lingering feeling than those before it. By all appearances it looks to be a much older work of the artist though there's such a stark difference in the art style (excluding for some reason one handful of pages in the middle of it) that it could easily be assumed an entirely different artist. The story is also notably different from those before it, a semi-political/racial story about a girl looking for another of her race and seeking the help of someone from her family's past. It proves neither suspenseful nor remarkable; too wordy and with little of interest to show for it. It's also almost a third of the book, the longest of the shorts present, which is unfortunate considering it's easily the weakest. The bulk of the stories in this collection would've been better served released in a smaller page-count book with a cheaper price than a full-length graphic novel bogged down by a story that reads so distinctly out of place.
Tale of a White Night is a recommended read for fans of suspense and light horror, though the lackluster read at the end is a soiling finish to this otherwise eerie compilation. Though perhaps a tad predictable to fans of the tropes at times, the bulk of these ethereally paranormal stories are generally successful at their intended creepy factor – an enjoyable one-shot read that should make the tree shadows on your window look a tad more unnerving tonight.
Grade:
Overall : B
Story : B
Art : B+
+ Successfully haunting stories; an attractive shoujo art-style that helps set the enigmatic air of the curse-centric chapters
− A terrible tack-on story to round out the book's page count that feels suiting to neither the subject matter, tone or quality of the stories before it
2010/09/19
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