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May 14, 2009
Mushishi, in every sense of the word, is an experience. Not only is it an experience for the characters that are told in the episodes; it's also an experience for its watchers. You feel sympathetic towards the people you watch. You only see them for a set time limit of about twenty minutes, but you may go through years of their lives. After the episode is done, you feel like you've known them personally. That's how real and powerful Mushishi feels.
Mushishi is one of those anime gems that really cares about the important things that made anime so great in the first place. One, is
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the superb animation. Each episode seems to get a certain color range depending on the Mushi it sponsors. In one episode, the mushi was a type of purple flower and so every frame had some kind of purple hue to it. In another episode, the colors are bleak and gray until the very end when the mushi appear and burst into vibrant colors.
These patterns usually happen in the beautiful backgrounds of Mushishi.
By contrast, however, the humans are of simple design. Realistically, most characters have dark hair colors and plain clothes. This contrast forces you to look at the nature scenes and grasp their splendor.
Sounds also play an important role in Mushishi. Toshiro Masuda does a very good job at making the mood through this sounds. There is no melodramatic music of an orcestra or annoying j-pop/j-rock songs; just simple instruments and simple melodies that are very calming. Masuda also made all the ending songs, for Mushishi doesn't truly have one ending theme. This way it is better; it catches the mood for each episode quite nicely.
Funimaition provided the English dub, so if you watch any of their stuff you'll instantly recognize the voices and they do their jobs exceptionally well.
However, voice acting is not one thing Mushishi stresses on, even for the Japanese version. Everyone talks in a slow manner, and they sound natural (unlike most anime with screaming pink-haired characters). Sub or dub, you'll get a good deal here. Watching the dub will probably be the better deal, since then the focus is on the screen, not on subtitles.
Once the talking is finished, the most striking detail of all was the emotion you can feel in response to watching such a soothing and tranquil anime.
Besides the obvious short stories that come out of episodic series, there is a back story that occurs throughout the whole series. But what it exactly it is is up to the viewer. The first episode had a quote that can resemble the series: "Life in its purest form." In Mushishi, everyone is living their lives, along with the mushi. It's only when they interact with each other when things get complicated.
Mushishi is one of those series that are best seen through animation.
The anime is also an art form. An art that both entertains and makes you think long after the credits roll. It makes you want to pack up your things and walk through a forest. It touches the part of you that feels like there can be so much more to life just waiting to be discovered by finding yourself in a new town...
Pros:
+ Splendid animation that is prone to detail
+ Characters you can sympathize with
+ Not cliche at all
+ Is highly rewatchable
+ Unique soundtrack
+ One of the best dubs
+ Follows the manga almost frame by frame
Cons:
+ Shorter than the manga
+ Not too many recurring characters
+ It leaves you wanting more
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 26, 2008
--The review contains spoilers--
If you have already seen the anime adaptation to Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, then the first 13 of the 18 volumes will be very similar. Only a few scenes being taken out of the anime for time purposes. But there are only minor differences. Beyond volume 13, a large arc takes place that the anime never touched on.
The wolf arc. Ginga Nagareboshi Gin gets a solid ending by Gohei's funeral and an adult Gin saying his last good-byes to his old master. It was a perfect ending to a pretty perfect story. There were battles and deaths and it is saddening that Toei
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Animation never made it through the whole series.
Most of the dogs were shown in the anime, except for a few minor ones such as Kisaragi's sons who Chibi met before they are killed by Akakabuto's solders and Beth, a perverted dog who wanted to make Cross his slave.
The wolves were exclusive to the manga and some were given their own versions of the Battouga. When many of the wolves died, they always did it with a cause, whether it was suicide or dying in battle to protect Gin and his pack, each death was a important one.
Though a few of the characters' name are quite ridiculous: Pink Dragon, Thunder Wolf, Mountain Bison, Black Snake, White Tiger, Thousand Dragon; the list could go on and on.
Anyway, the art in Ginga Nagareboshi Gin is really good though could be better. The animals were sometimes drawn much better than the human characters, and the violent battle scenes to were portrayed to sow the most blood as possbile. Even with the vast (And I do mean vast) amount of characters in the manga, each one had their own distinctions between each other to tell them apart easily. Yoshihiro did an excellent job with this series.
Enjoyment would be low if you can't read Japanese. And unfortunately, it seems that there will never be an officially licensed English version.
Overall, if you're a fan of action, dogs, and adventure stories of nearly epic proportions, you'll love Ginga Nagareboshi Gin. But as I said, there is no official English version. (However, GingaSite.net is providing a fan translation)
If you ever take the chance, start reading Ginga Nagareboshi Gin. I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Ginga Nagerboshi Gin was Yoshihiro's most popular manga series and it fully deserves that title.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 17, 2008
She and Her Cat is told from the perspective of Chobi; a cat that was recently adopted by She, an unnamed girl. Chobi is quite a philosophical little cat but his observations don't go past of what a regular cat might think. He notes how the girl cries, but does not wonder why, only that She is perfect and must not be at fault. He notes that She leaves during the day, but does not wonder where, only that the scent of the outside world comes through the door each time. He just knows that they are together, and that's all that there needs to
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be.
Being that there is no color in She and Her Cat adds to the OVA rather than ruins it. This could've happened because of the popular belief that cats see in black and white (they really see in color), but it really makes this 5 minute story stand out that much more. There are many freeze frames in the OVA, with the most animation coming from the background images, but this makes the story more involved and focused on and therefore it seems to fit the mood.
As with the simple, but highly detailed animation comes the sound. Chobi's voice is constant in this OVA; he gives his side of his conversations and tells everything from a narrative point of view other times. There are a few other sounds such as sound effects, but the soft background songs in it are great and soothing.
There are just three characters in this: Chobi, She, and Mimi, the cat that Chobi dates in the summer. The unamed girl She is shown as a lonely person who's only true friend in life is Chobi. While Mimi, on the other hand, is a cute kitten who wants to marry Chobi. Chobi disagrees; he thinks it is a false promise due to her just being a kitten and that he loves the more 'adult' woman instead.
Overall, She and Her Cat was delightful. Very rarely can you tell a great story in just 5 minutes, but Makoto Shinkai pulled it off very well for being his first project. While maybe a little rushed, it was still a wholesome work of art. It's short, it's sweet (yet dark on some levels), and it has just a bit of innocence everyone needs once and awhile. And even if you think you won't like She and Her Cat, just try watching it once. 5 minutes is all you need.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 16, 2008
This OVA honestly doesn't feel like an true OVA. There really is no difference to the animation or sound, and doesn't add much to the show besides more problems for the characters. The soundtrack is the same soundtrack they used in the show and there is no new characters introduced. Just another sub-plot that is cleverly told in a way that doesn't make it seem out of place.
In order to "finish" the series in just four more episodes, the pace is fast and to the point. The constant attention to detail and new developments is enough to make people watch.
Granted, this ending is better than
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what people got with episode 26, but it is still open-ended makes you feel that they didn't accomplish much. It gives the sense that Wolf's Rain is a never-ending series, though this is implied.
Anyway, if you love Wolf's Rain, you'll most likely love this OVA as well. There really is nothing to bad here unless you really hate endings that are not as solid as a concrete wall.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 15, 2008
After so many years and whatnot, most fans would think that eventually the Pokemon movies would lose their charm that the first few gave. I was starting to believe that myself.
What made Lucario and the Mystery of Mew so appealing was that instead of just showing a legendary pokemon and making it more epic than it really needs to be, this Pokemon movie took a step backwards and just didn't use a legendary pokemon as a main character (Mew seemed more as a side character) but Lucario was also close to the old atmosphere that made the older movies so great.
The very first scene shows
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a raging two-sided war. That alone drew me in for I knew that this movie was much more than what Pokemon Ranger or The Spell of the Unknown was. It had the same feel as Pokemon 2000 and The First Movie. It was a fun ride, I'll tell you that.
The animation was phenomenal in the movie. From the sparkling spirit of lucario's last moments to the action scenes, the movie never let up on the pretty graphics. Everything had a real fantasy look to it and it's very cool to see on a HD TV.
The sound was great, even if a little familiar. The usual opening scene of Ash battling someone to the tune of a recent opening song from the main series (which was lost in some other movies) was a fun scene to watch. By now it seems the dub DVDs will never supply us with a Japanese track, which is disheartening to say the least.
Lucario is by far one of the better "main" movie pokemon characters. He was lik a mix of Lugia and Entei combined into one and his personality was amusing. Sir Aaron was another likable character, though his time on screen is short.
After Jirachi Wishmaker and Destiny Deoxys, many people thought that Pokemon movies were falling into a sinkhole but it's great to see that Lucario and the Mystery of Mew was able to pull through. I recommend it to the die-hard pokemon fans. And maybe a few others that are looking for something to watch on a Friday night.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 9, 2008
The story (obviously) follows the puppyhood of Riki. It has the same flare from the rest of the Ginga series and the plot twists were enough to enjoy this short story.
The art was in Yoshihiro's unique style of drawing and the dog designs resemble those found in his other series. So yes, the art of the manga is great even if Yoshihiro's drawings haven't changed much since the 1970's.
The cast of characters is significantly smaller in GDR than in any of the other Ginga books. The cast of dogs include Riki and his family and four wild dogs (Heiji and his brothers). And of course,
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Gohei and Akakabuto make an appearence; As does Daisuke. As the plot revolves around Riki, most of the frames are of him and almost none of the other characters get any development or as much time to shine.
All in all, Ginga Densetsu Riki is short and to the point. The only people who might enjoy it are those who've read some of Yoshihiro's other works, though this book works well on its own.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 9, 2008
Pokemon had many good qualities during its golden years (roughly 1998-2002). It became an unstoppable force in many countries, mainly the USA and Japan. It quickly became the most successful show based off a video game and it has the most episodes of any animated show ever shown in America.
The animation was great for its time, and the songs were very addictive. It was obvious that everybody that saw the show enjoyed it very much, myself included. And to this day, over 10 years after the debut of Pokemon, they are still able to sell merchandise.
But what created the downfall of the series was that
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it never ended! The show could've easily ended at the end of episode 84, with the end of the Pokemon League. They could've said "Since that day, Ash trained hard to be a master." and then show him as a master. But no, the episodes just keep coming and coming. Johto was cool because of showing new pokemon, but when they repeated the trend of "new pokemon lolz" it got old really quick. And not mention that Ash never matured. He had a birthday one episode and in the 3rd movie he exclaimed that he and Pikachu have been together for a year. But at the start of Diamond and Pearl Ash was mentioned to be 10 years old again. Inconsistency is bad if you want to keep your audience.
It still find myself rewatching the first few seasons of Pokemon and hugging my pikachu pillow. But the new episodes these days just don't have the same atmosphere as the old show and it is hard to watch it without booing the lack-luster effort that gets put into each episode. But Pokemon will always have an unforgettable place in my heart and (ignoring anything past the Johto season) for that I give it an 8/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 9, 2008
Edit: After I re-watched this series, I have decided to re-review Ginga Densetsu Weed. I realize that I wasn't in the best of moods while writing my previous entry and now I'll write this review with a more... Level head.
Ginga Densetsu Weed is the sequel to Ginga Nagareboshi Gin. Both share a few of the same characters and the like. Ginga Densetsu Weed, however, is much newer (having been made in 2005 while Ginga Nagreboshi Gin being made in 1986). However, being relatively new does not automatically make it great, but GDW might be worth looking into since there is an extreme lack in dog
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anime out there (that aren't cute anyway).
Yes, Ginga Densetsu Weed has comedy scenes, but this is no Massugu ni Ikou (A rather overly-cute dog anime). GDW is an action anime, with cannibal dogs, assassinations, and even Ninja dogs. Humans play almost no role in the anime.
The main character is Weed, an Akita / Kishu mixed dog that is the son of Gin (the main character in Ginga Nagareboshi Gin) and Sakura. Weed has an extreme sense of justice and is also a good fighter despite being less than a year old. He is perhaps the most annoying main character you'll ever find.
The voice acting was good to an extent. But voice actors were changed and some character even shared the same voice so it was clear that Studio DEEN wasn't trying very hard.
Probably the lowest point of Ginga Densetsu Weed is the animation quality. Studio DEEN had on and off days with this. For instance, the last episode had great animation, but there were scenes in other parts of the series that makes eyes bleed. Sometimes the animators would animate every limb separately to make a nice flowing animation; other times the most animation in a scene was moving the character designs up and down. Studio DEEN should learn proper canine anatomy before making an anime that involves dogs as main characters.
The background scenery was pretty though.
And speaking of character designs, Studio DEEN made some weird changes. They changed Gin's eye color from brown to blue (probably to match Weed) and made both Gin and Weed a pretty good shade of blue; almost to the point of being unnatural. Ben's collar seems to have changed color and other little tidbits are there.
The anime and manga differences are to be expected. The manga (running 50+ volumes currently) is longer and therefore is definitely different from the anime. The anime, being a measly 26 episodes, ends with only two arcs completed [Kaibutsu and Fight for Gajou arcs]. Some characters were never introduced in the anime and other times some scenes were changed from their original format.
The anime ending was also completely different.
Maybe the GDW anime is trying to be more positive than its manga counterpart. Considering that Gajou blows up, Sniper tries to get revenge on Gin, George is there, etc, etc, happened in the manga and not in the anime... Studio DEEN is still being hypocritical about characters and sub-plots by killing off some characters when they didn't die in the manga and adding characters that weren't even in the original story.
The Ginga Densetsu Weed anime overall was a let down.
This version just can't live up to the manga: It doesn't follow the original storyline at all, characters are left out that are vital to the story, Weed is whiner than usual, everyone was made into hypnotized robots in the anime and mutually accepted Weed as leader, they made the old dogs weak to make the younger dogs look cooler, and there are so many plot holes it's not even funny.
Ginga Densetsu Weed anime in a nutshell:
~ Pros:
+ OP and EN themes songs are great
+ Can be enjoyable to watch at some points
~ Cons:
- Inconstant animation
- Change from old voice actors/lazy hiring
- Too short compared to the manga
- Weed
- PLOTHOLES
End Note: Many people, despite there being obvious flaws in the anime, still enjoy watching this series (I admit that I did during my first run-through since I read the manga afterwords) so you really shouldn't skip out on GDW. It's just that... The manga's better. And Studio DEEN sucks at drawing dogs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 9, 2008
First off, one should know not to take this special very seriously. For one, the special shows every single character attending the sports festival (even already dead characters). I myself enjoyed pointing out some people like the 4th Hokage and Itachi from the crowd. Second, the plot revolves around Naruto needing to use the restroom, but to his dismay, he just can't seem to find a toilet without interruptions.
The animation in the Sports Festival is the same animation used in the actual movie, so it is high quality in terms of detail. The sound is... Well it sounds like what any Naruto scene would sound
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like: Naruto sceaming, background music being fast-paced, and Naruto screaming some more. The characters pretty much act the same with Shino being his weird self and Shikamaru complaining about every little thing. But what got me was Hinata trying to tell Naruto her one dark secret about him. That seemed out of character to me.
And as for the enjoyment part of the special? It really depends on whether you enjoy watching a 20 minute show full of nothing but "I NEED TO FIND A TOILET!!!" or not. Overall, this might be fun to watch the first time, but you really don't need to watch it a second time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 8, 2008
The new millennium has brought us many new anime titles. Most of which seem to involve a sad story, a sad main character, and an overall sad feel. Wolf's Rain may indeed fall into that category, but there are unique differences that make this series more complex than that.
Take first, the main character Kiba. He has a goal and he'll do anything to reach it. But he has two distinct sides to his character. One is his proud, rash, and arrogant self that attacks anything that stands in his way. And the other is a quiet, mysterious, and observing type that is expressed when meeting
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new friends (For instance, when he was reluctant to say his name to Hige) and whenever he is around Cheza. Though not technically the sorrowful character one would expect him to be in an orphaned and lonely state, he still makes sad connections to his past.
As this was an anime before it became a manga series, BONES (the same company that made Fullmetal Alchemist) had unlimited freedom on where to go with the series. Except for a few "flashback" or "clip" episodes in the middle of the series, there is almost no filler and the pacing of each episode is excellent. The animation is amazing (as expected of BONES) and the music just as well. Beautiful orchestral music is played throughout the series, and, unique to most anime, the opening and ending themes are in perfect English (as are other soundtracks songs during the actual show).
The main story follows an unusual cast of characters, most of which are not even human. Kiba and his crew are all wolves with the power to create the illusion that they are human (though it is not perfect as their shadows and pawprints are still shown through). There are also the typical human characters, like the greedy Dracia that wants Paradise to himself and a pair of lovers that rekindle their relationship through hardship. Plus there's also the ghost of a cryptic owl that gives advice in proverbs. (Whether or not this is a Legend of Zelda reference is still beyond me)
But there is never a time when an anime can be perfect. There are still plot-holes within Wolf's Rain. Mainly the ending: It's open-ended and leaves more to be desired. But as a more thought-provoking series, the ending does its job... Kind of. But besides a few odd turns, Wolf's Rain is good at creating plot twists. And BONES was so confident about the series that most episodes don't even end in a cliffhanger. They just find a natural stopping point.
Overall, Wolf's Rain is an enjoyable series if you love wolves, action, the supernatural, and beautiful music. Though don't expect it to be happy or provide fan-service.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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