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Feb 13, 2014
Set in an alternate future where the government spends more on space exploration instead of military hardware, Planetes explores a different genre of the manga community where the slice-of –life invaders have not yet reached. Categorised as hard sci-fi, Planetes which offers a bulk of information, presents it in an enjoyable format and leaves you hungry for more.
The story revolves around the crew of Toy Box, a ship which collects debris revolving around the earth. (Take a minute to appreciate how imaginative this concept is.) It tackles the life of the crew (Garbage men) and their struggles with space and themselves. Presented with a scholar’s
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panache, this sci-fi is based on realism of the space industry and gives us a peek into the expertise of these explorers. Not everything though is about the vast universe, the manga talks of finding yourself, being true to your feelings, overcoming your own limitations. It brushes with racism, environmentalism and politics. Planetes balances between individual conflict and larger than life questions with the grace of a figure skater. Although the story is not as juicy as Makato Yukimura’s recent, Vinland Saga, I found the scientific backup of Planetes more appealing than the mythological inventions of the Vinland Saga.
The strongest suit of the manga is the characters. It’s important to acknowledge how the characters are NOT divided and labelled into their generic roles, i.e. the potential love interest, the goofy protagonist or the tsundere. This manga depicts the best female characters I’ve ever seen. For example Fee Carmichael, who might appear to be just a hot tomboy at first but these misgivings are decimated with swift development. Fee is debris collector and a mother, while she works in space her husband takes care of their child back on earth. Fee struggles with her world view and steps up to what she believes. The manga brilliantly touches her struggle with racism. In short Fee is a BAMF who rides a hog, provides for her child and fights the system.
Although the bane of hard sci-fi is its rigorousness, the comic relief provided by Planetes balances it out. The artwork is commendable. Skilful depiction of movements is awe-inspiring. The details in artwork along with detailed story make the manga enjoyable and easy to digest. Planetes manga makes you sonder. You forget about your worries in comparison to this incomprehensible universe.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 8, 2014
Imagine if you decapitate someone but instead of blood a rainbow is splattered across your face. This is the core of Feng Shen Ji manhua. It throws us into the fantasy world where Gods are slavers and humans exist for servitude. Welcome to Zhao Ge, the bustling capital of Shang dynasty whose emperor has refused to serve Gods any further. What follows is a feast for eyes.
Art: gorgeous, exquisite. I will run out of adjectives to describe the art and still fall short. From fighting scenes to landscapes from mines to facial expressions everything is pitch perfect. This perfection becomes bane in this case; every
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guy has muscles protruding out of his body with awesome hairstyle. Due to heavy inclination towards aestheticism the art becomes unrealistic.
If the notion of overthrowing God’s authority does not excite you I don’t know what can?!
Manhua follows the life of Wu Geng the prince of Shang dynasty, his struggles with slavery and learning divine powers to challenge the God. Although the settings of the manhua promise an interesting premise, the narration and characters ruin what could have been a masterpiece.
The narration style is equivalent to teenage blabbering, constant use of words “brat” and “bastard” is cringe worthy. The quality of a fantasy depends on its rich history and background of the characters which unfortunately Feng Shen Ji fails to offer. It takes a while to digest that Gods are the villain because we are not given any motivations for this reason. Though it’s common for the protagonist of “the-one” genre to power through every opponent, this series was refreshing change. Ah, yes but it does keep the winning-through-willpower mantra.
The weakest point of this manhua is the characters. Their behaviour is predictable which makes them monotonous. For example, Ah Lan falling for Wu Geng just because he is the prophetic saviour, who could have seen that coming!?
Lack of mortality with the characters makes the manga immature. If the major character keeps coming back to life, it loses its seriousness and the readers feel cheated.
If you’re okay with muscular specimens shouting out their attack names and then attacking, this manhua is what you’re looking for. Welcome to Feng Shen Ji where a fascinating story with deficient narration is served ablaze with colours and gorgeous art.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 5, 2014
Psycho Pass is set in futuristic japan where the government is replaced by the SIBYL. SIBYL is a computer system which controls everything from traffic lights to delivery services. It can read your brain and determine the job best suited for you. It can calculate how likely you’re to commit criminal offences. If you’re a follower of sci-fi Hollywood cinema then it’s indubitable you’ll think of this as a mash up of the “Matrix” and “Minority Report.” I can assure you it’s not the case. Although the series does draw inspiration from the ilk of the above mentioned movies or books
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it also presents interesting, innovative plot and technology.
The animation is gorgeous; its top notch work so you can’t complain. With this animation the viewers will beg for more action sequences. Fighting scenes are not over the top gravity defying Shonen but are in the convolution of martial arts.
The music is exquisite. Opening tracks and ending tracks are full of vibrant colors accompanied with a pumping music which suits the dark setting of the anime elegantly.
The show falls short on narration, the first ten episodes are lethargic and commence at a snail’s pace. The biggest flaw is with the narrative are the philosophical ramblings. Lines are quoted from famous literatures but as a viewer they feel obscure, we are unable to fully grasp that philosophical idea.
The show presents one of the strongest female lead, Akane Tsunemori, who is an intelligent detective and is all for equality and justice. And no, she doesn’t have a huge rack. She remains true to her character throughout the series. All other characters are left unexplored. There is lack of relationships dynamic between the characters due to which they become unrelatable to the viewers. Motivations behind the actions of the protagonist, Kougami Shinya and the antagonist Makishima Shougo are not properly comprehended. The narrative walks too close to realism making it boring.
The whole SIBYL system and its functionality remains clouded throughout the series. How are the Cymatic Scans performed? What exactly is Hue? If the system does not take into account the willingness to commit crime does that mean any person with above average IQ will become a latent criminal!? These valid and important questions are not given any space and hence stay unanswered to the viewers.
Unfortunately great animation does not make up for shoddy narration.
Psycho Pass is a onetime watch and remains a mine of untapped potential.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 2, 2014
Vinland Saga depicts a mythology in the most realistic from. You’ll be disgusted seeing the horrors of war yet before you throw down the manga you’ll realize it has established a tight grip on you. In the most basic form the manga deals with war and slavery. But the allure of the manga lies in its depiction of revenge and forgiveness. The story follows the adventures and misadventures of Thorfinn who after witnessing the murder of his father swears revenge. Revenge can drive a man insane and its effect on 6 year old boy is incomprehensible.
Manga depicts gore scenes with grotesque beauty. True nature of
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war is shown without holding anything back i.e. Pillaging villages, raping and selling the victims into slavery. It also takes us into the psych of a warrior’s mindset showing how a warrior justifies killing in the promise of Valhalla. The first half deals with warfare and is successful in reeling in the readers with lucid action scenes and Viking fantasy world. It focuses on the warrior's perspective and readers can’t help falling into the disgusting notion of glorifying war. The geographical explanations are both accurate and educating; it is significant in contributing towards the reader's understanding of the Viking world.
As we go deeper the manga offers a lot more than bloodshed, it shatters the war glory illusion and tells the story from the point of view of the victims, the slaves. It’s a mature and bold thing to do because a lot of mangas focus on glorifying violence which becomes their selling point. The character development of the Protagonist, Thorfinn is marvelous. But this is also a negative point, the series focuses substantially on the protagonist that I felt that no justice was done to secondary characters. If more time was invested in other characters the development would have been immaculate.
The manga gives us a lovely message. Thorfinn who was an assassin takes up a plough in his hand instead of knife and realizes the horrors he has caused. War causes withering while agriculture brings out growth in people. Understanding the consequences of the atrocities causes by power-hungry warmongers, Thorfinn vows never to fight and turns the other cheek towards is attacker. This reflection of Gandhian philosophy is powerful and sends a strong message to the readers. Not only Gandhi but George Orwell’s “1984” WAR IS PEACE can be seen in the actions of King Canute who uses brutal force to establish utopia.
Vinland Saga is an ongoing manga and there is a lot of potential for character exploration; I hope they start focusing on other characters, till then it remains one short of masterpiece rating.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 28, 2014
Legend of Galactic heroes can be described as our history set in the future. In one word this anime is EPIC. No I don’t mean the colloquial epic. But epic in its literal sense. Many people complain that the first season is boring (first 22 ep’s) but that is not the case. The first season sets the base for the entire series and leaves no room for any misses.
“In every age, in every place the deeds of men remain the same!”
The story in not anything new, in fact it is the story of the history of humans, of every war and every ambition. But
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no other anime has represented this story with such eloquence . LOGH does not feed us pseudo-science or complex principles of string theory but tells us about simple things which we are all too familiar with, war and politics. Where the show lacks in adrenaline rush it makes up for it in intellectual stimulation. The English subtitles are amazing with correct and beautiful English. I suggest you watch the anime with an internet connection and a dictionary. I myself had to research some concepts before understating a simple statement but that is a bad reflection on me not the series.
What at first might appear to be a simple story between good and evil takes a different turn and makes us question our own ideals and morals. The principles of democracy and autocracy are represented exquisitely. On one side we have the imperial empire which is under the control of aristocrats who fill their pockets by sending common people to their deaths (until a commoner who like a fairy tale prince works is way up to becoming the emperor of the entire imperial empire and reforms the nation ending the tyranny of the noble aristocrats.) On the other hand we have a democratic empire which has been rotted to the core because of the laziness of the citizens in electing good politicians.
The series provides a good reflection of Orwellian philosophy i.e. mass media manipulating the opinions of common people and secret police arresting the thought-criminals. I loved the contrast between the protagonists on the opposite side of the spectrum. Kaiser, Reinhard von Lohengramm who gains the power but losses his only friend and sister. Although he has the entire universe around his finger, he is a tragic figure being the loneliest person. Yang Wenli, a genius tactician on the other hand does not want power, he wants to be a historian but fate has other plans for him. To protect his ideals for democracy he gains power though not voluntarily. He has friends while the Kaiser has subjects. He shares honest laughs with his friends while Rienhard is given loyalty, respect but not companionship. There are many other remarkable characters one example is that of Paul von Oberstein who makes Machiavellian decisions for the emperor and takes the thankless job of directing all the hatred upon himself which might have been directed on his Kaiser and could has planted seeds of revenge against the Lohengramm dynasty.
Though some might say that the characters are one-dimensional, I don’t agree. Everyone is a product of their past environment so the predictable behavior is realistic not plastic. Music is a strong suit of this series. You can lose yourself in the serenity of every track of every season. The paroxysm you get from the accompanying soundtracks makes up for the lack of testosterone gushes. The animation is not good but that cannot be held against the show since it ran from 1988-2000. (The animation does improve as the series progresses.) The brilliant story-line with sagacious characters makes the anime vivacious.
Though I gave this anime a masterpiece rating there are tiny flaws should also be addressed. The religion (or cult) is shown in villainous light without setting a proper foundation for it. The love chapter between Julian and Karin is somewhat rushed and immature. But there petite errors should not prevent anyone from viewing this anime. The astounding depiction of colossal level of military affairs a feat. Although I sound like a critic, let me get off my high horse and just say that it was a privilege to come across this anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 22, 2014
I am a big fan of Baccano! series by Takahiro Omori, which has been rightly described as a "Quentin Tarantino movie on crack." So watching Durarara!! was inevitable for me.
STORY: The story is simple enough but what makes it awesome is the non-linear narration style. Though not as fast paced as Baccano!, the story nonetheless sets folklores in modern settings which is very cool. The story does become linear by the end and it appears the writer was bored and does a half-assed job to the end. The ending feels forced with some important questions left unaccounted for. The story deserves a masterpiece title for
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the first half of the series because it breaks the traditional art of story telling and focuses on many different characters instead just on the protagonist.
MUSIC: 10/10 great OP and EP tracks. I really liked how they experimented with the soundtracks for particular sequences.
DUBS: Awesome dubbing as expected from Bacanno! creators, Steven Blum is always a pleasure to hear but in this series he has been overshadowed by some other great voice actors. :)
CHARACTERS: Cool, cool cool cool. Love how it breaks any preconceived notions about the characters. You may think you know how the characters are and what their job is. Like the tsundere, the loser protagonist, the joker friend. Well it challenges the your idea of what you think the characters are going to be! Every character is awesome and leaves you wanting more.
Bonus: The cross-overs with different anime especially with Baccano! was highly entertaining and amusing to watch.
I really enjoyed Durarara!! but I cannot give the masterpiece rating because of the second half story, which is not bad but the gang-war stuff didn't really appeal to me and I feel that it was not well done.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 18, 2014
The Music: Jazz, blues, acoustic ballads, hard rock, country funk. Yoko Kannos' work is pure genius.(You might also be aware of her work from The Ghost in shell series)
From the opening theme song "Tank", to chase sequence music such as "Bad Dog No Biscuit", to "Space lion" or the awesome "What planet is this?". The music is pitch perfect and suits the setting of the anime elegantly.
The Characters: Cowboy Bebop's characters are as realistic a one can get. What is great about the series is that it maintains the mortality of main characters. This team is not a bunch of all powerful god like super-humans
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who can kick anyone's ass simply by their "will power" (Goku..cough cough..Naruto cough cough...Shonen cough cough)
This team is all too real, they have their problems, they can be overpowered and they can die.
The Voice Actors: I have never seen another anime which compares to the same level of English dub as this this series, okay maybe Baccano!
The voice actors used have done a really really good job. I just cannot picture Spike Spiegel without Steve Blums' voice in my head.
I mean really, one of the best dubs evaaarr.
The Bruce Lee element: Chances are you find Spike Spiegel's fighting style jaw-dropping awesome. Have you ever wondered what what type of style is that?
It's Jeet Kun do which "is an electric/hybrid style of no style and philosophy of life founded by martial artist [The great]Bruce Lee."
That is not the best part. Not only is Spike practitoner of Jeet Kun Do but also follows Bruce Lee's philosophy of life.
Noir-CyperPunk-SpaceWestern: Holy shit, this anime has all three of them. The technology depicted in the anime is fascinating probably because it still uses wires which gives it an interesting aspect because we all know the future will be nothing like that.
Humor: Cowboy Bebop is anything if not funny. The classic Spike and Jet situations are very humorous. Not only that, the recurring characters such as the three old men, and Punch and Judy from the T.V show Big Shot can put a smile to anyone's face.
For me Cowboy Bebop has evolved beyond as an anime. It is a culture.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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