- Last OnlineAug 21, 2023 5:10 PM
- GenderFemale
- BirthdayOct 24, 1989
- LocationCanada
- JoinedJan 31, 2010
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Nov 15, 2011
Though I didn't fully understand Brandon's motives (if I tried hard enough I could've but meh) I did enjoy the anime. The story is based vaguely around the concept of loyalty, friendship, and family. A lot of animes would do over kill and make their entire series crappy but somehow Gungrave manages to pull it off.
The one thing I didn't like was how short the series was and how most of the episodes were of how Brandon became Gungrave. Not that I'm complaining but, that combined with the shortness of the series gave the whole thing a feeling of being rushed. The series could
...
have easily made it past thirty episodes with just a bit of effort.
The characters were somewhat original and not cookie-cut like so many other animes. They were more emotional than others without going overboard and left you guessing at some of their motives until the very end.
The sound was one of the things I didn't like at all. The action sounds were very loud but the conversations had to be turned up in order to hear them well at all (leaving you to jump when the guns started firing). While I understand that gunshots are significantly louder than speech, this is an anime and I'm sure the viewers don't want to wet themselves every time the guns started firing unexpectedly.
*MAJOR SPOILER ALERT* The one thing I really didn't was the ending. I'm not sure if it's because the Japanese prefer a different kind of ending to people in the Western Hemisphere or if it's just me but, so-so endings just don't cut it for me. Brandon in the end chose his friend over Millenion and was more than likely turned to dust. What also didn't make much sense was him saying he'd be Mika's guardian and then keeling over like he did. While Mika was obviously going to be taken care of physically, she had lost everyone that was important her. Had at least Brandon survived, she would have had someone. *MAJOR SPOILER ALERT*
When creating an anime, it's important to get the ending just right, the best way to go is of course with a happy ending (sad endings can work as well when done properly); the bad guy is dead or in jail for the rest of his life and the hero gets to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. So-so endings are incredibly difficult to pull off and it's obvious that Gungrave failed it's attempt at a melancholy ending.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
Nov 11, 2011
The manga starts off as mediocre from the very beginning, nothing really happens and it takes until chapter forty for any rising action to happen and then the climax, falling action, and resolution all happen in seven chapters. It took a couple days to finish simply because the story was that slow. The manga seemed to skip over the character's back stories and did very little to explain the DearS cultures.*Spolier Alert* Why Ren was "defective" was never discussed, what happened between Takeya and his step-mom before she married his father (the manga hinted at something that was between them), what interstellar war, and much
...
more. *Spoiler Alert*
The artwork was really the only decent thing about this manga. It was very similar in style to "Chobits"; it wasn't simplistic but it wasn't as detailed as some manga such as "Kurozuka". It was somewhat cartoony but not to the point of it being childish. All in all, the artwork is the only good thing about this manga.
The characters were okay but the number of characters in the manga weren't as well thought out as others and were more cartoony than what the manga called for. Some characters seemed to be there for no other reason than to fill space(China and Ayu are excellent examples).
*Spoiler Alert* The lines "nothing wrong can happen when you try your best" and "love will save the universe" were undoubtedly the DUMBEST lines in the entire manga. I'm sure I don't have to explain why. *Spoiler Alert*
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Aug 23, 2011
In the beginning it doesn't seem like a bad manga but as it progresses further, the heroine turns out to be a weak little girl with her head in the clouds. I don't know what it is with the manga writers (no idea what they're called), but every manga I've ever read where the main character is a girl, that girl is some naive little twit that thinks she can save everyone around her and has her spirit broken when she finds out that she really is a naive little twit.
-SPOILER ALERT-
The moment I dropped this manga is when she got to the line
...
"you must save yourself with your own strength for the sake of that, I will even discard my womanhood" and then dresses up in guy clothes at a formal party. Seriously? At least OTHER naive little twits don't "discard their womanhood" to become stronger. Only an idiot casts away a crucial piece of themselves (and lets face it, it doesn't get much more important than your gender) in order to gain something as vague as "strength".
-END SPOILER ALERT-
This manga is a complete waste of the paper it's drawn on. Don't even bother with it. The only good thing is the plot behind it and even that could use some work
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Jun 6, 2011
I took a leap of faith on this one and I'm glad I did. I'm not one for Shouen Ai but it seems to be the only way to get a good blood drinking scene so it's something I can deal with.
I'm not 100% on just what the plot is but I'm enjoying finding it out. Normally with manga it easy to tell a couple chapters in what the whole thing will be about and even guess the ending. So it's nice I can't do that with this one. I only have one problem with it and that is that the chapters seem to jump
...
around randomly; there's little connection from one chapter to the next so following gets tricky from time to time.
The artwork is incredible, I love how there is detail but it's not over kill as it is with some mangas. It isn't so simplified though that the manga begins to feel like a child's manga but it isn't so detailed that it takes away from the story. The artist managed to actually find a happy medium and a style that suited the genre of the manga.
The characters are well thought out but Johnny is slightly annoying because he is somewhat immature. I do get tired of there always being one serious character and one immature character in every manga I have ever read and for some reason, they're either very close (as in friends) or lovers. In real life, someone with Chris's personality would never be able to tolerate someone like Rayflo.
As I've mentioned, I'm not a fan of guyxguy pairings. Nothing against it but I just don't like it. That being said, I am still enjoying Vassalord because of that bloody element you can't seem to get with hetro pairings in vampire manga. Hetro vampire manga doesn't have many blood drinking bits and what little it does have is often boring. So I'm willing to ignore the homo pairing to get great blood drinking scenes and gore.
Anyone who isn't a fan of Shouen Ai but likes actual vampires, not sparkling pansies or gun toting nuts, will enjoy Vassalord. The vampires have the sexuality that they're supposed to have without being whiny little bitches or complete space cases. They aren't good but they aren't evil either. Vassalord vampires are like humans in that sense. They can choose whether to live anonymously with humans or go on killing sprees. Either way there is no "I want to be human" or "I do this because I'm a vampire" type vampires in this manga. Even Chris doesn't seem to regret his decision.
I recommend this to anyone who wants actual vampires with good blood drinking scenes but not the sheer amount of gore that comes with Hellsing or the overwhelming drama that comes with Vampire Knight (both are still good mangas).
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
May 17, 2011
The idea of a demon servant fueled by kisses isn't too bad of a plot and has lots of potential when done right. Pity Her Majesty's Dog was NOT done right. It had it's moments but the female lead just got too annoying. She has this powerful ability to control people with her words but is such a meek and soft-spoken person that the fact she has this ability is moot since she hardly uses it. She had no inkling about technology, was pretty much useless on her own, and had the street smarts of a toddler. Her friend wasn't much better, if you've seen
...
one meddling friend you've seen them all and this one is no different. She was incredibly nosy and suffered from the "I can't do anything because they said no" syndrome.
The demon guardian was the closest thing this manga came to a three dimensional character; you learned about his past, what made him tick, and got to read about him growing personality wise. He was aware of his faults and did everything in his power to be a good guardian and was not above asking for help when he knew he needed it. His rival wasn't all that well thought out and pretty much threw himself at the female lead. The only depth he had was the reasoning behind his compulsive lying and that's it.
The climax and falling action are so close together that it's almost impossible to define when one ends and the other begins. The resolution is hardly better. The ending, while well thought out, was disappointing. Had the female lead any backbone to speak of, perhaps the story would have been better.
I recommend this to people who actually enjoy the female lead to be naive and submissive. If you're like me, and prefer the female to have a backbone, go read Vampire Knight or even Inuyasha. Anything but this drivel.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
May 17, 2011
The overall story is definitely good and to a point original. The idea of a god stuck on Earth forced to collect evil souls is a good one and the anime even gives you a small amount of information on Norse Mythology (the manga tells you more but what it doesn't tell you, you can look up).
I was mostly pleased with the fact that the anime didn't have the standard characters that comedy animes usually have; the lecherous pervert who somehow gets away with only a hit on the head, the klutzy girl/guy who trips over her/his own feet all the time, or the
...
immature adult who can't act his own age. The fact that these three highly annoying character types are NOT present in this anime is a definite bonus.
The anime does follows the manga to a point but as per usual, changes the story a little bit as needed. Some scenes in the anime are completely different than the chapters they mimic in the manga and some scenes in the anime just plain don't exist in the manga.
The only thing I didn't like about the anime is the ending. It seemed rushed and hastily thrown together. Despite the shoddy job on the ending, it doesn't leave too many questions and any it does leave can be answered by doing a little homework on Norse Mythology (hint: Ragnarok).
The anime is pretty much anything but serious but it does have it moments. The series would have been better had they stretched out some of the episodes from one to two. The actual serious points of the anime could not be brought across to the audience in half an hour and should have followed Black Butler in stretching one episode into two.
I recommend this series to anyone looking for a laugh but also something that older viewers can watch without feeling like they're five.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
Feb 28, 2011
I am so far liking the plot but find that the first four episodes have a tendency to jump to a different day without warning. I find the episodes a little rushed. Otherwise I really do like it. After I got used to the sound and graphics, anyway. I was originally hesitant to watch it because of it's age but I'm glad I did. The sound effects are incredibly cheesy but it's good all the same. I would definitely recommend any vampire fan watch this
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
Jul 9, 2010
I find Saya just to be too much of a pansy. It was taking too long for her to "wake up". The father was just too unreal "don't forget to smile" and all those life lessons he had. Kai wasn't like he was in the manga and had the tradition anime hang up of "being useless" and "unable to protect". The story just dragged on and it took too long for them to get to the point and made any action scenes were made too short.
All in all, it was a big disappointment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
