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I’ve seen a lot of good animes lately, but after a while, you begin to realize that an awful lot of animes tend to carry the same themes, jokes, and overall styles. However, after being whole-heartedly recommended to check out Baccano, I can say with certainty, there is nothing quite like this anime.

I went into Baccano not really knowing what to expect. Reading short synopses didn’t really help much… alchemy, immortals, mafia families, but what really caught my eye, was the tagline, “Baccano ain’t about beginnings and ends. It’s about the twists and turns. Paths don’t cross in this story – they collide. Every Dick ... and Jane plays the lead…” That’s what was interesting, that every character plays the lead role, rather than one protagonist. So with my interest piqued, I pop in the show.

First of all, I have to say that this anime reminded me a lot of Pulp Fiction… you know, that Quentin Tarantino flick, with Sam Jackson and Bruce Willis? The way it reminds me of that movie, is mainly the way the story is told. The entire 16 episode series is told almost completely out of order. One minute, you’re in 1930, then suddenly in 1932, then a little back to 1931, then for a couple episodes, we’re all the way back in the 1700’s! These particular episodes explain much of the story. Surprisingly, much like Pulp Fiction, it’s not confusing to follow. It may be a bit at first, but the show has a subtle, but effective way of filling you in on what’s going on. I’ll let you figure it out for yourself.

One thing I should mention is the voice acting. It is some of the best I have ever heard. This anime is released by Funimation, but there are a lot of names I’ve never heard of before. The only names I recognize are Brina Palencia, Caitlin Glass, and J. Michael Tatum. But the rest of the cast is fantastic, using the 1930’s gangster accent to amazing effect. It’s extremely well done, and I look forward to seeing some of these VA’s in future releases.

The music… oh man the music. The show regularly uses up-tempo Jazz music to great effect. The opening theme in particular, “Guns and Roses” by Paradise Lunch is amazing and marks one of the few times I listen to an anime’s opening each time it comes across, not only because the “previously on” is included in the opening. The only track I don’t particularly care for, is the ending theme, which I can’t recall its title. Compared to the rest of the soundtrack, it’s out of place, and I usually end up skipping it to get to the next episode. However, it is a Yuki Kajiura track, and I do like her music, and this is a good song, but as stated before, compared to the rest of the soundtrack, it feels as it doesn’t belong.

The art style is very nice, and feels very much like a film Noir. It’s very dark, and yet colorful at the same time, if that makes any sense. It’s actually quite interesting to think, that this is a Japanese show, with tons of American movie references, to be released in America. I actually believe that the show director got most of his influence watching “The Untouchables,” at least according to the commentary. Speaking of commentaries, that is a nice bonus included with the anime classics collection. I really wish more animes would include commentaries. It’s nice to hear what goes on behind the scenes of these shows.

Lastly, I have to give a shout-out to the characters of Isaac and Miria. These lovable losers are the shows comedic relief, to say the least, and are always good for a laugh. The show would be quite dark without them, and it doesn’t hurt that they tend to run into the other characters regularly. The rest of the characters are great as well, in fact, I don’t think that there is any character that I don’t like, although I must admit that I didn’t care for Isaac and Miria at first, though they quickly grew on me.

In conclusion, I say once again that this show is fantastic, and simply a blast to watch. There really is nothing quite like it, and it comes with nothing but the highest recommendations from me. Last I checked, it’s only around 20 dollars on amazon, so check it out as soon as you can. A rare perfect Ten from me.

Memories are a mysterious thing… when you remember something, you are positive that what you remember is true, but memories can play tricks on you. Sometime the mind chooses what it wants to remember, and disregards what might be a painful or sad event. Memories are like a canon. A canon is a simple melody played repeatedly and after each line, a new melody is played on top of the existing melody, until it grows more complex. This (admittedly complicated) analogy ties very neatly into Kanon.

Another fantastic Key anime, Kanon is all about vague memories, and discovering how different memories tie together. I will not ... go into plot points, save that it begins with the main character, Yuuichi, transferring to a small town to live with his Aunt Akiko, and cousin Nayuki. He meets a number of eccentric characters as the days go by, such as Ayu, a rambunctious squirt who is never without a cry of “uguu,” Shiori, a quiet, beautiful mystery of a girl, Asuka Lan- oh sorry, I mean Makoto, the loud one with a soft side, aka tsundere, and Mai and Sayuri, two seniors with a strong connection. Suffice it to say, Yuuichi gets close to each one of these girls, and makes for a very deep story.

This will not be a long review, but to start, I have never been this attached to any shows characters as much as in Kanon. I cried during this show more times than I care to admit, particularly during one tear-jerking scene in ep 9. In addition, during the last 3 eps, I think I had tears in my eyes the entire time, but thankfully they changed to tears of joy at the end. It’s rare to see an anime this well put together, and able to make you care about its characters this deeply. I particularly love the use of Pachabel’s Canon in D, throughout the show, as well as “Once Upon a Dream” from Sleeping Beauty during a certain scene. As far as I know, that’s what that song is from… if anyone cares to correct me on that fact, go right ahead. If I had to complain about anything, it would be Yuuichi’s school chum, Jun. In my opinion, he only exists to break the mood of the show, except for one hilarious scene with Yuuichi. Other than Jun, I have no real complaints about this show. I only have praise for its characters and its story development, and its powerful emotion that it carries. It comes strongly recommended from me.

To be perfectly honest, Air was an impulse purchase for me. I wanted to try out a new anime and essentially bought this because it was only $15. It looked interesting though, at least from what you can get from the back of the box. I took it home, tossed it aside for later, and realized recently that it had been sitting in my anime pile for a few months now. I remembered it because I has picked up Kanon recently, (which I will be watching soon), and was told it was made by the same people who had made Air. So I decided that ... before I watch Kanon, I would watch Air since it was only 12 episodes. I’m glad I did.
Air is essentially a show about growth. Growth of feelings, growth of courage, but more fully, growth of character. Each and every character in this anime goes through different trials, and comes away a better person because of it. We have the main character, Yukito who was always something of a loner, until the kind and rambunctious Misuzu comes into his life. She merely wants to be his friend, but Yukito has no desire to be involved with her. She takes him into her home, with her rowdy mother, and their relationship grows from there. Then there’s Kano, a school-mate of Misuzu, with her own mysterious past, followed by Misagi, who’s family is malfunctioning. Of course we have the ever annoying little brat, Michiru, whom whenever she spoke I wanted to mute the TV, but even she had my sympathies when her story gets told. You see, each resident of this small town has a story, and you find out all of them throughout the series. My favorite has to do with Misuzu’s mother. It’s a touching story, and it even managed to make me shed a tear. Very few anime’s, much less media in general, cause me to do this, so I give high accolades to ones that can.
Of course, no anime is without its problems. As mentioned above, a couple of characters kind of annoyed me. Misuzu’s voice is rather high, and to hear it often was problematic. It’s common in anime to have a high-voiced girl, but it tends to bother me. Then there’s Michiru…. Oh god there’s Michiru. She was the loudest, most irritating character by far. I was glad she wasn’t a prevalent character.
Also, this is only a minor gripe, but the sound seemed to be a little quiet, as I had to keep the volume turned up higher than I normally have it. Not a real problem, but worth mentioning. I also was not a huge fan of the two episodes that basically travel back in time. Sure it fleshes out the story more, but it seemed out of place in an otherwise standout anime.
Besides these, the show was fantastic, and a worthy addition to any collection. I’m glad I took a chance on this anime, and look forward to their other works. I highly recommend this anime.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time... what can I say? I LOVE this movie! I went into this movie with no real expectations... I had never heard of it, I had never seen it in a store, I had only the recommendation of it by a good buddy of mine. Once I got a hold of it, I sat down, watched it all the way through, and was surprised to notice that at the end, I had tears in my eyes. (Don't laugh). I was very much emotionally invested in this movie, with its characters, their lives, and the overall plot involved. I'll say it ... again... I LOVE this movie!

It begins normally enough; schoolgirl late for school, arrives at school, hangs with friends, leaps through time... wait a second! That's right. Shortly into the movie, she gains the ability to leap through time, and the movie takes off from there.

First of all, this is the only ten I've given to an anime, movie or otherwise, but let me try to explain. The characters in it are some of the most down-to-earth, realistic characters I've seen in an anime, which is good by the way. Of course, since it is an anime, there are still those exagerated moments such as when a character gets angry that permeates just about every anime show. The Voice acting is also exeptional to me, and really helps to draw you in to the character's world and plot. The art and animation are exeptionally beautiful to my eyes, and make this movie a joy to watch, especially if you have an HDTV. The music is wonderful, and tie the whole experience together. The length of the movie is also just right to me, clocking in at just over an hour and a half. Not too short, but not too long.
The story is filled with different emotions. I laughed out loud, which I don't normally do, I cried, which again, I don't normally do, and I was genuinly happy when things worked out in the story. Very few movies do this for me, and deserve praise when they can do it this well. I'll say it one more time.... I LOVE this movie!

I don't know what else to add, other than I FULLY, SINCERLEY, recommend you check this movie out!

Ah... Elfen Lied. To be honest, this anime was a gamble for me. I saw it at the store, and remembered hearing good things about it. I was going to call someone to get an opinion on it, until I saw that price, 7.99. This was the complete series also. Granted it was used, but that was better because I could return it if I didn't like it. Long story short, I fell in love with this anime.
There are a few weak areas I should mention. First of all, it's a short anime, at about 13 eps. Second, it showcases some annoying anime cliches, ... such as girl walking in on guy with another girl, hilarity ensues, guffaw. and Third, I can't watch it without fear of someone walking in and seeing the on-screen carnage that this show has. Yes, there is a lot of violence and nudity, but it is never there to be gratuitis, save for those cliche parts when guy accidentally grabs girl, guffaw. The story is full of emotion, and some scary parts, including one that scared me the most involving a little demon girl diclonius (i wont say more just watch the show). The opening theme is very fitting, and one of my favorites, as it's not just some jpop or jrock song thrown in. It's a soothing, yet eerie theme, perfect for the show.
One more major complaint is the ending. It isn't bad per se, it just tries to be mysterious when you clearly know what is happening. Not very well done. Other than these small quips, the show is fantastic and I fully recommend it.

Now don't take my seven out of ten as a bad thing. I really liked this show. My major critique is that it took about 6 episodes to finally get really engaging (except a certain moment in ep 3 that shocked me) and by that time the show was halfway over.The first 6 episodes, to me, were actually kinda boring but still quite watchable. I also thought that the characters never really developed well at all, with the exception of Homura. The rest stayed almost exactly the same as they were when they were introduced.
But that last half was really good, and i watched ... the last 6 episodes in one night, which says a lot about me, since I rarely watch more than 3 episodes in a night. Overall, it is very worthwhile and I fully recommend it.