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Jan 10, 2012
Claymore, as a 26-episode anime series, only tells part of the story of Clare and the Yoma (demons) she fights. The last three or four episodes depart from the manga so as to give the series as a conclusive ending, rather than leaving a cliffhanger. Even so, the story does leave open the possibility of a new anime series, one which can follow the manga's course. The manga is published once every month, meaning 12 issues a year, so it has taken a while for the author, Nohihiro Yagi, to write everything out. As opposed to popular shounen series like Naruto and Bleach, Claymore's story
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reflects a more thoughtful development that is only possible when more time is spent considering where the story should move to next.
Clare is a young-looking female warrior called a Claymore. Claymores are half-human, half-Yoma warriors tasked with slaying Yoma and their more powerful counterparts, Awakened Beings. While utilizing the Yoma's power to fight, the Claymores fall in danger of transforming into the very demons they seek to kill. The characters are always walking a tightrope act of drawing enough strength to win battles while not transforming at the same time.
I've watched the series twice now, and I found it far more enjoyable the second time around. There's a lot depth in the series that isn't really evident unless you follow the manga's events after the series. Hopefully, a new anime series will be produced because the story is by no means complete here.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 7, 2011
Future Policeman Urashiman is one of the more unique anime series to come out of the 1980's. Given that it's from that time frame, the artwork looks a little dated and the technology of the future may appear to be anachronistic compared to that of today. However, the series makes up for the flaws largely due the interactions between the antagonist (named only Fuhrer) and the protagonist (Urashiman). There is a backstory between the two that is explained in the series, but for the first half the show has a "crime of the week" feel to it.
The character development of Fuhrer simply makes the show
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work. Most of the time, Urashiman and his fellow policemen interact with a villain called Ludvich. Ludvich, given more episodes to himself, could have become one of those villains that you root for. However, the series decided to go with Fuhrer (Ludvich's boss in crime) and it was the best choice.
Without spoiling too much, Fuhrer is a man who could be over 100. It's hard to tell but we know that he's old and he uses scientific means to extend his life. Fuhrer wants to use Urashiman's power to travel back in time in order to revitalize his body so that he won't have to face death. Urashiman becomes sympathetic to Fuhrer as a person, despite the fact that Fuhrer leads the largest crime organization in the world and Urashiman is a policeman who is constantly opposing that organization. No other series that I know of develops a situation in which the two opposing forces in the plot appear to be close to ending their hostilities and moving in a different direction.
The supporting characters are about you might expect out of an anime show. Claude is a dashing police officer who likes to pick up the girls. Sophia is a former nun now turned police officer who still makes religious references now and then. Gondo, the chief of Urashiman's police unit, is an old fellow who is constantly shouting and ignoring his blood pressure. Urashiman's cat, Mya, also plays a role in the series since he (or she) came along for the time travel ride as the series began. It's unknown whether Mya has the same powers as Urashiman, but if so, the series isn't telling. Stinger Wolf is the guy on the scene for Necrime- the organization run by Fuhrer- and he is more often than not the one who leads the physical fighting that goes on. Not much is known about Wolf and not much is said one way or the other. He simply appears to be a guy who is in it all the way for the bad guys.
The music within the show is very good. I particularly enjoy hearing Necrime's theme because, unlike a lot of police animes I've seen, the villains are just as important to the story as the heroes. I'm not a fan of the opening and closing themes, although this was the early 1980's so I can't really hold that against the series. Other than that, I found the soundtrack to be good enough to hold its own although it wasn't what I would call revolutionary.
Despite this, the series was not given an American release- perhaps because the title "Rockin' Cops" was too much of a departure from the original intent of the creators. The series itself seems to be one of many Tatsunoko Production projects that slipped under the radar for the most part.
The series was made in a time when Japan took it's science fiction seriously and allowed a lot more room to navigate than they do today and the result is a free-form futuristic show that combines elements of police work, time travel and pathos on the part of the villains. At 50 episodes, the series is exactly as long as it needs to be and it provides a fun romp through a possible future through the perspective of a 1980's-era boy and his cat.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 10, 2011
Kurokami is one of those many animes that would have done a lot better had it been given more episodes. For the depth of the story that is told, I would say about 75 episodes are needed. As it is, the series stands very well by itself.
The show takes place in a world in which there are three of every person- a Root and two Subs. The Doppeliner System favors the Roots, in that they have the majority of the luck in life. If a Sub were ever to meet their corresponding Sub or Root, that person would die. People called Mototsumita are charged with
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maintaining the balance of the system in the world and as the show begins, the system is being subverted by a famous corporation for its own ends.
There are two protagonists- Keita (male) and Kuro (female). Kuro was born to be a princess of her land, but she begins the story by wandering the streets of Tokyo. The reasons for this are explained later in the story.
The show mainly revolves around the two heroes' relationship together and their deepening connection through a series of conflicts. There are support characters in the story, but these aren't given enough time to realize their full potential. Because of this, the other Mototsumita showing up to support Kuro often seem like random people. This is literally a series that could have become a popular shounen work with 400+ episodes to its credit had the creators expanded on what was already there. 23 episodes isn't that bad, but the story's advancements often seem to come out of left field and the plot twists lose their meaning because enough time wasn't given to establish the meaning of the development to all the characters involved.
Nevertheless, Kurokami remains a good show. It's a show about two people doing their best to fight against the destiny they were given and the ways in which they overcome the rules society put in place to restrict their lives. In many ways, it's a philosophical progression of Japanese morals which began by saying that people had to work inside the system they were given to now determining the ways in which they want to the system to affect them. If anything, Kurokami is a sure indication that Japanese thought is becoming steadily more individualistic.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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