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I watched this while drinking with a friend. The alcohol didn't make the anime any more sensible. All I got that it was either:

1. Very inspired by Star Wars... especially the cantina scene.
2. Rian Johnson and J.J Abrams passed the blunt around while watching this and writing their sequel trilogy... since the main character is pretty much just Rey.

Also best frame rate in an anime ever. Strongly recommend. If I drank more maybe my brain would catch up with it.
The 80s soundtrack is a classic. Is Nora meant to sound like a man or did I miss something? I'll go with I missed something.

Best part ... was Nora's strange bike/plane sci fi craft. Awesome, wish I had one.

Summary: This movie is 1 hr 55 minutes of pure Dragon Ball AWESOME!!

Some spoilers in this review!

A 10 rating for a Dragon Ball movie? Maybe I am caught up in the hype but after seeing this movie at its New Zealand premiere I can easily say I was blown away by how good this movie is.

Now for my ratings.

Story: 7. Alright I'm always going to score Dragon Ball a little lower on the story side. Story isn't this franchises strong suit. I was tossing up between 6 and 7 but ultimately went for the higher score. The movie had about 30 minutes dedicated to ... the history of the main 3 Saiyans (Goku, Vegeta and Broly). This section was mainly adapted from the Dragon Ball Minus chapter from Jaco The Galactic Patrolman mixed with some elements from Bardock: Father of Goku. The next section was a sort of in between with Frieza recruiting Broly and Paragus; Vegeta and Goku bouncing off each other. Basically build up to the MAIN FIGHT! Which is the third section and of course the main part of the movie. Not really much story here. Then there is the epilogue - which is nice. The movie ended well and was open ended for more adventures in the Dragon world.

Art: 10. This movie was BEAUTIFUL. It flowed very well and was amongst the best in the Dragon Ball franchise. Even the CG didn't look too ugly. The fight was just perfect. People in the cinema were in awe of how cool the transformations looked especially Broly going super saiyan etc. Of course one of the most important things about the movie was Broly's new design which in my opinion is better than his original. Alongside this we also get a new design of Gogeta. Similar to his design in Fusion Reborn except he now has the same coloured Metamoran clothes as Gotenks. The art is all around classic Toriyama which is always a winner for me.

Sound: 8. Maybe I'm scoring this down because I'm salty there was no Solid State Scouter. All around the soundtrack is good and I would like to give it another listen. The fight music was upbeat and exciting. The theme song Blizzard is good!

Character: 10. Let me jump right in with the character that this movie absolutely did right. Broly. I am not the biggest fan of the original Broly - sure he's cool, he's powerful, he WHIPPED the Z Fighters ass, has a nice design. But he's a stupid character; his hatred for Kakarot is ridiculous and being brought back for 2 sequels (one where he was peed on by a kid and one where he is just a massive pile of goo) just made me sick of the guy. But in DBS:B we meet a new Broly. A man who has been broken by decades of abuse by his father all to create the ultimate tool of revenge against King Vegeta. We see a different side to Broly; a young Saiyan who made friends with a giant fluffy snake. It is made clear that Broly is NOT a villain - Goku says this himself. But losing his mind in the fight creates a monster which could destroy worlds. I could talk about how great the new Broly is all day really. Broly's Paragus is shown to be a ruthless yet in my opinion cowardly man who used and abused his son to become a weapon of destruction. It is sad that after all this - Broly is shown to still care for his father.
Two other important characters in this film were the new Frieza Force members - Cheelai and Lemo. They were good characters who gave Broly a chance. I really liked them and I think they worked well as a new trio with Broly.
Everyone else is pretty classic. Goku is Goku, Vegeta is Vegeta, Frieza is (surprise) still evil. Not much else to say there.

Enjoyment: 10. I enjoyed this movie a lot. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen as there was so much going on. I never found myself bored and was even disappointed the movie was over.

Overall: 10. Maybe I should really give it a 9 but screw it. This movie was exciting, fun, everything a Dragon Ball fan could ever want. I really recommend this movie to long time fans - for a newcomer to the series the stories and exposition may seem a bit off putting (there is a large time skip between the first and second parts of the movie). This movie was great and I look forward to seeing it again!

I'm a big fan of the Cowboy Bebop anime series, I've seen it numerous times. It's a classic for sure so I thought I'd check out the manga adaptation.

Story 4/10
First thing is that this manga is a reboot and has different storylines for all the characters. Which wouldn't be a bad thing if the manga actually had a story at all. The anime was mostly episodic but had the main plotline of Spike, Julia and Vicious. This manga tries to do something similar to that with the Scorpion storyline but falls very short. I didn't find the story very interesting and was often bored.

Art 8/10
The ... best part about this series was the artwork. It had nice shoujo artwork. The characters were stylised in the artist's own style which was nice.

Character 5/10
The characters don't really stand out from each other. Spike isn't the cool guy he was in the anime, Ed is annoying instead of funny like she was in the anime, Jet isn't the cranky cool guy and Faye is hardly in it. I don't remember what the antagonists were like since they barely mattered.

Enjoyment 4/10
I often got bored. The manga just didn't feel like Cowboy Bebop. It felt like a generic space story with a Cowboy Bebop skin. Of course, with no audio, it doesn't have that awesome musical punch that the series did. Maybe Cowboy Bebop just isn't mean to be a manga.

Overall 6/10
I give it a boost for the art, which was cute and nice shoujo art. Otherwise, this is a forgettable title. Which is a shame.

Dragon Ball Z is a household name; but this is the less popular prequel to the most beloved/despised anime of all time.

Whenever I talk about Dragon Ball to my friends the usual response is 'don't you mean Dragon Ball Z?' This show is criminally underrated in my opinion.

I didn't watch this show as a kid - so this review is written without nostalgia goggles. I watched the more popular DBZ but can't remember any of it (I'm re-watching it now).

Dragon Ball starts with Goku as a kid. He wasn't a world wide hero back then - he was just a kid with a tail that ... lived in the bush. He was then discovered by Bulma and the adventure begins. Something that I feel is missing from DBZ is this adventure. Goku and Bulma travel the world and meet friends such as Oolong, Master Roshi and Yamcha (who was actually one of the strongest people on Earth at this point).

Dragon Ball has always been a fighting series but in the original - fights didn't take 20+ episodes.... the longest fight was about 4 episodes and didn't have all the powering up that Dragon Ball Z has. The plot moves quicker. But the martial arts were exciting and I was always excited to see what move the characters would use next.

The comedy is great. Very 80s but that's what makes it so fun. This was a time before comedy was censored in children's show. Goku does some of the most outrageous things and Master Roshi is a complete perv to the point where it is uncomfortable to watch. This show has drawn criticism for its treatment of women by today's feminists but I see it as a product of its time. It's not offensive to me in the slightest and I get some great laughs out of it (which rarely happens anymore).

My favourite part about Dragon Ball though is the characters. They are all a delight and Akira Toriyama put a lot of thought into their designs. The main character Goku is a funny and strange monkey boy, there's the rude and outrageous genius Bulma, the pervert shapeshifting pig Oolong, the desert bandit-turned-ally Yamcha and his shapeshifting flying cat, Puar. As we get further into the series we are introduced to more awesome characters such as the bald-headed rival-turned best friend Krillin, the amazingly powerful and deadly assassin Tien Shinhan (who becomes one of Goku's strongest allies) and his best friend/totally gay lover Chiaotzu, the deadly King Piccolo and his equally vengeful son Piccolo Jr. Even the minor characters are great: the vain General Blue, the peaceful Android 8, the Goku-obsessed future wife Chichi and more. The characters are probably mainly the reason this became one of my favourite anime of all time.

Another point on the characters is they all get a chance to shine. Unlike in DBZ where the Saiyans far outclass everyone - Goku is not the most powerful person in the world for most of the show. There are no long scenes of everyone waiting for Goku to show up - everyone can hold their own. Notably Tien Shinhan who battled with King Piccolo.

At the end of the day - Dragon Ball isn't for everyone. People will hate it for its childish jokes or poor animation. But to me - this anime is perfect. I strongly recommend it to anyone who wants a quality shonen anime to watch.

I was off school sick; so what did I do? I watched the entire A Certain Scientific Railgun anime. Best thing I could have done.

Story: 9
The story only gets a 9 because each consecutive episode feels disconnected from the episode prior. Especially around the beginning and middle of the anime.
I could say that the story is about Railgun and her friends helping a scientist rescue some kids from eternal sleep.

Art: 10
ACSR is beautiful and modern. The characters look great and the setting of Academy City is stunning.

Sound: 10
I loved the soundtrack. It fits in well with the story and the beginning and end themes weren't ... too bad.

Character: 9
Misaka the 'Railgun' is a Level 5 esper who is extremely capable with her powers.

Kuroko is a level 4 esper who has an extreme yet hilarious obsession with her best friend Misaka. Her power is teleportation.

Saten is a Level 0 who has no power what-so-ever. Her arc consists of her coming to terms with being normal in an abnormal world.

Uiharu is annoying.

Enjoyment: 10
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. It is humorous and has a great story.

Overall: 9
Perhaps it would have been a 10 if the story was less disconnected; I mean - did they really need that weird fan-service bikini episode?

I loved Strawberry Panic. As someone who prefers more action orientated anime (Huge Neon Genesis Evangelion fan here) I do enjoy a lovey one now and then.

Story: 7
It's about an all girls school which seems to be full of lesbians. Girl 1 meets Girl 2. Chaos ensues.

Art: 8
The characters and environment were oh so pretty. I especially liked Shizuma.

Sound: 8
The piano pieces were the best part of this soundtrack. Very in character.
...
Character: 8
Being a Yuri anime - I found it easier to root for certain pairings than if it was a regular heterosexual anime.
My favourite was probably Shizuma due to her backstory and damaged personality. Hikari and Nagisa were cute and I found Aname to be cool.

Enjoyment: 9
I very rarely got bored. There was always something new and funny happening. Whether it was searching for a lost umbrella or trying to get to the Dance Hall first!

Overall: 9
Strawberry Panic comes short of a masterpiece - but I still highly enjoyed it and recommend it to any fans of Yuri and Anime.

As someone who is not a huge fan of sex in media – I found Aki-Sora to be a difficult read.
I found myself cringing or feeling bored in some parts.
Why did I read it then? To prove to a friend that I actually could.
Warning: There is a lot of sex and other mature themes in Aki-Sora.

Story: 6/10
Aki-Sora is about a young boy who has a sexual relationship with his sister.
The story is about a young boy's sexual exploits until about 20 chapters in. The redeeming parts of the story that make Aki-Sora a worthwhile read – are the character backstories. I found the backstories of ... Aki, Sora and Nami's parents to be quite intriguing as well as the building of the relationship between Kana and Nami.
Other than that the story is mostly disconjointed sex scenes at the end of each chapter (which served as a buildup to the 'climatic' sex scene). This is where Aki-Sora suffered for me.

Art: 4/10
Yes the characters are cute; but I sometimes found it hard to interpret which character was saying what in each panel.
The illustrations of various body fluids also made me a bit queasy.

Characters: 7/10
Aki-Sora is a character driven manga in which we get to see the different character's inner turmoils.
In some cases – this is brilliantly executed; when not over shadowed by the constant sex.

Enjoyment: 3/10
I found myself forcing myself to read through some parts. I prefer action stories with a lot going on as well as brilliant characters. Aki-Sora is not a story like that.

Overall: 5/10
Aki-Sora only gets an average from me. It's not because of the incest – that doesn't bother me.
I know that it is an ecchi manga – which isn't my type of story.
It isn't a masterpiece; but I do recommend it to people who enjoy ecchi/incest type of stories.