2012 News Archive
February 12, 2012
Two months...two quiet months. Well, friends, sorry about that! There are lots of reasons for the break, the primary one being that shortly after Christmas, our television set blew up. Literally, with sparks and smoke and humming like a nuclear reactor. Having only one TV left in the house that's barely as big as a computer monitor, I'm on the road to a major upgrade. But that whole process, along with other developments in my real life, has put anime viewing on the backburner. I'm busy cleaning off my 11-year-old Tivo as the upgrade to HD comes ever closer, so I've been devouring my recordings of Durarara!, which I should have a complete review for in the near future. Once I get all the pieces of the new setup in place, I imagine I'll be back to the regular routine. In the meantime, when I do hang out with the anime crowd online, I do so over at THEM Anime under the screen name AkiraKaneda. I encourage you to pop by sometime for a conversation with me and some of the best anime reviewers on the planet.
February 27, 2012
In the midst of getting my new TV setup -- which is still not done yet -- I was able to pop to the theater with my family to catch the latest Studio Ghibli offering, The Secret World of Arrietty. If you're in a hurry, just take my word for it that you should catch it at your local cinema before it leaves. But please click on the review to find out why I believe this to be an excellent sign for the future of the studio Miyazaki built.
March 5, 2012
Thankfully, the new system is up and we're cooking with gas! As such, I was able to finish up watching Durarara!! in HD. It's a lovely-looking show, to be sure. But is this time-bending, slightly supernatural urban sprawl of a program worth your time? Read the review here to find out...
March 18, 2012
If you have recently upgraded to HD and BluRay, you owe it to yourself to see Redline. An amazing old-school extravagance with hand-drawn animation, it is the bleeding edge of cool. Does that mean that it's a great movie? Not exactly...depending on who you are, it might be a rental first. I don't think I'd own it, but that doesn't mean I didn't think it wasn't a visual extravaganza...click the link to see if Redline is driving down your alley.
April 2, 2012
Concepts come and go in waves. We used to have mecha anime by the scores; now you're lucky to see one or two a season. Supernatural mystery/horror shows are much the same -- the first one I can remember was the Vampire Princess Miyu OVA series in the 80s -- but they have their place in the anime canon. Recently, with the advent of Garden of Sinners, we've seen a number of dark serial killer shows with lead characters more bizarre than the criminals they catch. Electromagnetic Girlfriend is one such show from 2009. If you like the genre, is it worth your time? Read on to find out my take.
April 30, 2012
Patient readers know that I've been working my way through the Garden Of Sinners series of films, trying to put a little bit of space between then to experience the whole as many folks did when they were originally released in theaters. I'm not sure that was a great idea, considering that there's so much non-linear storytelling that it's easy to get confused...even bored. But after the third entry that nearly put me off completing the whole, the next film -- The Hollow -- gets back on track. Read the review to find out why I will keep on this dark and strange supernatural mystery train.
June 19, 2012
Life has a way of changing your plans...oh well. First up today is my article called The Future of The Anime Review. While I'm not going anywhere any time soon, this will give you insight into why I'm not updating so regularly and what you can expect in the future from me.
Second is my review of the film Paradox Spiral, the fifth entry in Garden of Sinners. Most people consider it to be the centerpiece of the series. Me? Not so much.
June 23, 2012
Just a quick note...I wanted to say "thank you" to the dozen or so of you who have written since the publication of The Future of The Anime Review. While I'm going to be away from my computer for the next couple of weeks and can't write back personally right now, your letters have been a real encouragement to me. For those of you just stopping by, please read the article and then feel free to drop me a line. Thanks for letting me know how The Anime Review has been a help to you!
July 13, 2012
While I didn't plan it this way, Friday the 13th seems an appropriate day to print the review that took me forever to write and somehow pounded into me the banality of a lot of anime. It's short and to the point...my take on Lupin III: Seven Days Rhapsody. It's not as much about the anime as it should be, and I'm sorry for that, but some things aren't worth that much in the way of time and words.
I also wanted once again to say thanks to you who have written to me in the previous several weeks. There are a few misconceptions I want to clear up and some possibilities for the future that I'll discuss in an article coming up over the next couple of days. Keep your eyes peeled and you'll get another chance to see the man behind the curtain at The Anime Review.
August 9, 2012
Just a quick note that slow and steady progress is being made on RahXephon. In earlier days, I would have written a preview review of the first DVD. However, I'm going to finish up before sharing my thoughts, especially since I'm not sure I have any this short of a ways in. More to come soon.
August 31, 2012
It's great to be back with you and sharing a new anime review! RahXephon was one of the major Evangelion-inspired anime that hit the market in the early 2000s. I honestly skipped it because I wasn't terribly big on Eva when it first came out. But now with some distance -- and the admittedly awesome Rebuild films -- I figured, why not visit the most significant homage to the most infamous mecha anime ever made? Click the link to find out why RahXephon made waves but never overtook its predecessor in popularity.
Meanwhile, I also promised an article clearing up a few things about the future of The Anime Review. If you're interested, please read this quick note.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to have more reviews for you in the near future!
October 8, 2012
NIS America continues to produce some of the best-looking anime sets on the market, and I recently got the chance to watch through their Blu-Ray presentation of Arakawa Under The Bridge. An odd and quirky comedy series, it won't be to everyone's taste, but its moments of sweetness make the package appealing. Take a gander at the review to see if it might hit your sweet spot.
November 20, 2012
Over the past several weeks, I've taken a gander at a surprise hit from 1999 -- Trigun. While never terribly popular in Japan, it made huge waves here upon its release and is still finding an audience today. Is it a modern classic or an over-rated time waster? Read the review and find out...
December 24, 2012
My Christmas present came early this year in the form of NIS America's release of Bunny Drop. This wonderful show is a perfect example of anime at its finest...read on, friends, to find out why. (It even inspired me to make plans for reviewing well into 2013...it's that good.)
December 31,2012
Two reviews in two weeks...who'd a thunk it? Anyway, I'm glad to ring in the new year with you with a review of an engaging if flawed film called One Stormy Night. If you've ever wanted to know if the wolf could lie down with the lamb...er, goat...well, this is the film to tell you.
