For starters, I really liked the way this anime started off. It’s been a while since I watched it (only a few weeks, don’t worry, it’s still hella fresh), but the first episode really stuck out to me. I love the way certain anime start off with no clues as to what’s going on and let’s you figure out at what poin that initial scene will come back into relevancy. This show did a great job with that. Bringing in a climatic scene to show off the fighting and style of the anime was a great diving off point. And then, as is shown, we are given a build up in the show.
So the basic plot, I guess, is that Train Heartnet (Jason Liebrecht) AKA, Black Cat is one of the all-stars among the Chronos numbers. This elite groups of fighters wields specific powerful weapons to each of their characters that help rid the world of evil and injustice. With this power came a bit of bigheadedness and there are those among the Chronos numbers who felt it may be time for a
Train and his "woman". It's unfortunate what happens.
bit of a power struggle/coup. Black Cat wasn’t particularly one of them, but his “friend” Creed Diskenth (Chris Patton) saw to it that it was. (Cue classic “I kill your woman so come at me brah” scene.) So, in fact, Train spends a lot of this 24 episode anime chasing down bounties and trying to get at Creed for his injustices, just not with the Chrono numbers.
And why, you may ask, does Train leave the Chronos numbers? Well, Creed did in fact kill his woman and he also shed some light on the overlord situation being created by Chronos. Being able to decide who he shoots with
The 4 great bounty hunters: Train, Sven, Eve, and Rinslet.
his trusty Hades pistol gave Train the intiative to leave Chronos and embark on this adventure of revenge and redemption. This creates problems for the do-gooders of Chronos and their soon to be enemy, the Apostles of the Star. But this is all much later, and it would be better not to divulge and deal witht eh story at its beginnings.
This story, once Train leaves Chronos, deals with the bounty hunters all over this (Japanese?) continent. Set in a slightly different world where a bit more of the magical is possible, issues of transformation and impossible science and powers are given free reign. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but its initially not portrayed as anything supernatural at the beginning (a bit misleading). But I grew to love it in a heartbeat. Come on, a dead-eye shot with a pistol who can save the world and the girl? I’m putty in your hands to mold to this plot.
Sven (Brandon Potter) and basically his daughter Eve.
My favorite character in this anime is Sven Vollfied, voiced by the very able Brandon Potter. Now, you won’t hear this guy’s voice come up this often, but its so gravelly and unique with its tone and inflections and the occaisional squeak in his voice that you’ll laugh and connect all at the same time. But anyways, Sven is a great protective Dad character that looks out for Train, Eve (Brina Palencia) and Rinslet Walker (Jamie Marchi). Throughout the show, Sven sacrifices himself against great odds constantly in order to ensure that the other characters know there’s someone there that cares and loves for them deeply.
With little vinettes into the lives of some of the bounties these four “hunters” chase and two epic battle culminations towards the end, you really get a sense of what these people are individually and collectively fighting for. You find your favorite and root for them, despite the odds of the foes. It makes for a great quick watch (depending on how much time you wanna spend watching little sections of different plots at a time) and has a comically interesting
A great beginning and a great ending.
animation style depsite the heavy issues that are dealth with at times. Not quite a shounen fighter, not quite a comedy, this show find a happy dramadey medium that works just fine. This middle of the road anime deserves at least a 7.2 out of 10.
The title of my review says everything about this anime. I fell in love with the graphics, the 3-D battles, the back story. And I was taken away by the emotions behind the characters. The anguish of the foreigner in a land that doesn’t accept them for who they are. The man in love who cannot tell the woman he loves how he truly feels. The orphan abandoned and left without a help in the world. This German set anime (talk about a country of hate and anguish) is tastefully portrayed with a religious background and a head full of steam. With every new character arc (from Gerd to Malek, Hermann to Amanda) you are lead by your heartstrings to the heartbreak you are meant to see, and some you are not.
The idea behind Blassreiter is one of mecha, with a sci-fi drama backdrop. The line between man’s science and God is
An Amalgam's go to vehicle. Can you feel the emotion?
blurred. No longer is it the struggle between machine and man, but a meshing of the two. Man’s ultimate goal. In futuristic Germany, a crack team of soldiers known as the XAT (Xenogenesis Assault Team) has been given the task for the bast decades to find and eradicate as well as protect the citizens of Germany from what are known as Amalgams (Demoniacs to the public.). These Amalgams are humans who have been transferred using some scientific disease into machines capable of attaching themselves to electronics and vehicles.
It is only common for these Amalgams to be created from dead bodies. Until one day, after being involved in an Amalgam attack, Gerd Frentzen (Christopher Sabat) is given the chance to regain his
legs and race again. But the price it pays is that he becomes a living Amalgam. And the fate of all Amalgams? Bloodlust, insanity, and death. It is up to the XAT to discover the cause of a living Amalgam and what this would mean for the furure of Germany and the rest of the world. But the Amalgams go deeper than a mere nuisance. And I’ve only covered the first 6 episodes. You have to watch the rest for yourself.
Gerd Frentzen (Christopher Sabat)
As I said before, this anime has some pretty spectacular 3-D animated graphics that blew me away. Any scene with an Amalgam or vehicle is given a special touch of full-breadth motion and fluidity. Combine this with a 2-D background and characters and you have an interactive combo right there. What could be better than this you say? Well, the character creation is top notch. The characters (and there are quite a few) deal with so many different emotions and personalities. There are the soldiers of the XAT, dealing with betrayal, duty, and what it means to be a soldier. (A very German thing, the honor of fighting for one’s country.) The humans turned Amalgams and their struggle with their humanity. The original Amalgams and their struggle with their pasts and their duty to the furthering of humankind and its evolution. God’s role in this anime is huge. (Another attitude of a prominently Protestant country.)
And then there’s the skeletons in Germany’s closet. The race hatred. The problems with German old
The amazing graphics behind Blassreiter.
family citizens of a higher class and the lower class foreigners given a chance for a new life in Germany, but given the scraps of the other classes. The hatred, the xenophobia. It all plays out on a tasteful stage. But even as this issue fades out to a respectable end, Germans are given a nod of respect for the strides they’ve made since the blood of the past has begun to dry and flake on their hands. And I give a nod of respect to the Japanese for the nod to the Germans.
The premise is interesting for a mecha. In a world moving forward, what is the point in which humans must pull back and examine their humanity versus their
What is behind the Amalgams?
technological drive? Anti-sci-fi (?) in a mecha is an interesting approach, and I welcomed it, being a mecha anime fan myself. (If I haven’t covered this before, non-anime fans/fans to be, mecha is mechanized (?) anime, dealing with machines and robots, i.e. Gundam Wing.)
Joseph (Todd Haberkorn), a character of anguish.
There should also be some credit given to the voice strained voice actors who lent their emotion to this anime. Watching this dubbed, I was amazed with the power given to the characters purely through voice. Joseph Jobson (Todd Haberkorn). Almost unrecognizable, but gives that brooding hero voice with a disturbed and tragic past to perfection. Hermann Saltza (Travis Willingham). This guy swore and yelled more than any other voice actor I’ve ever heard. I give him credit for days at a time (probably) of a hoarse speaking voice. His emotions and pain came to the table and delivered. Gerd Frentzen (Christopher Sabat). I give him credit because he is the amazing Christopher Sabat (as you know, I’m a big fan.). His voice of gruff torture and anguish spoke to me as usual, and kept me grippingly emotional. And Amanda Werner (Jamie Marchi). Her torrent of emotional confusion and desperation was quite excellent. And that’s only a few. But isn’t that enough to get you watching this anime? Get to it. 7.8 out of 10.
What is there to say about Mnemosyne? This short 6 episode, 45 minutes per is one of those anime you watch without really being able to explain it. Set in 4 different time periods (1990’s, 2011, 2025, and 2055) these episodes display a pattern that is constantly broken. Rin, a private investigator and femme fatale, takes the ordinary and mundane in her cases and uncovers the surreal and supernatural. And this isn’t unfounded. Rin herself is an immortal. How did she get to become an immortal? Well you’ll just have to watch to find out.
There’s not a lot to say about this show, so this’ll probably be a short review. The plot becomes intricate as it
Too sexy Rin.
develops, so it’s not too hard to follow despite the changes in time. There are some consistent characters though. Besides Rin (Colleen Clinkenbeard), there’s her assistant Mimi (Jamie Marchi) the other immortal computer wiz of the ever changing duo. And, as the show progresses, Koki Maeno (Robert McCollum) and his descendants become integral parts of the plot.
See what I mean?
This anime is quite graphic as well. Known as a grotesque and erotic anime, there’s some pretty gruesome and pornographic scenes. I mean this thing borders on straight up Hentai. (Not for the kids, mind.) These elements mix to make a suspenseful thriller mystery unlike most anime I’ve ever seen of any of these anime by themselves. I mean there are scenes of sodomy, scenes of overwhelming erotic passion, and bondage with torture. Who doesn’t love that?
I initially wanted to watch this anime because of a really cool AMV I saw (I’ll post it at the end) and I had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. I had originally planned to watch this subbed and found a respectable english voice class. Todd Haberkorn did a great job as Apos, the slightly devious and strangely evil… well… angel. (Now you have to watch it.) I’ve not seen Haberkorn
Rin. A different experience.
ever voice act for a villain, but it was slightly chilling. Christopher Bevins gave a respectable performance as Tamotsu Yanagihara, the hardened investigator who’s career develops over the course of the anime. And I give all the credit to Colleen Clinkenbeard for her performance as Rin, the amazingly sexy protagonist of the series.
So, all in all, this is a little anime that gives the creeps. Tastefully sexual and quite intricate, it’s worth more than one watch. Check out Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne, straight out of The Abyss. 7.2 out of 10.
Ever since my girlfriend and her sister cosplayed the Thompson twins from Soul Eater, I had developed a growing
Liz and Patty. Yes.
interest in watching Soul Eater. I didn’t realize at the time what this show would hold in store for me. (Added bonus if Christopher Sabat does any voice in an anime.) As I began watching this 51 episode anime, I found myself falling in love with the characters and caring for what would happen to them (although I had the ending ruined for me by complete accident.) It didn’t detract from the pulse-pounding episodes of battle after battle that ensued, and I found a new love in this Halloween-type anime that sent chills down my spine and laughs throughout my body as I spent a week watching this amazing anime. I was enraptured.
This anime follows the story of three “Meisters” and their “Weapons.” These duos of weapon and wielder take on what are known as Kishins, the tainted souls of creatures that have become monsters and feed on other people’s souls. Once 99 Kishin souls are collected, and one witch’s soul, then the weapon is deemed worthy of being used by Lord Death. This grim reaper is the essential Headmaster of the DWMA, also known as the Death Weapon Meister Academy. He installed this school to battle Kishins, and it has done a good job up to this point.
The doom and gloom of Death City.
It is at this point that things begin to go downhill. The evil witch Medusa (Luci Christian) and others have made plans to bring down the DWMA, and it is up to three brave Meisters, Maka Albarn (Laura Bailey), Black Star (Brittney Karbowski), and Death the Kid (Todd Haberkorn) to defeat the evil plot of the witches and Kishins. Teamed up with their weapons, Soul Eater (Micah Solusod), Tsubaki (Monica Rial), and the Thompson twins Liz (Jamie Marchi) and Patty (Cherami Leigh).
So it may seem weird that Meisters, who are people, are fighting using weapons who are also people. But these people are born with the ability to change into weapons at will. These weapons are special as well. A Meister and its Weapon have a special bond known as Soul Resonance. This bond allows Meister and Weapon to combine into one soul and creates a higher power in which to defeat enemies. But these three are not on the level of the Professors or Lord Death himself at the DWMA. And it is the school’s purpose to train these Meisters and Weapons in order to make them formidable opponents against Kishins.
The one thing that stands out about this anime, to me, is the style in which the plot is set. The doom and gloom of death and souls is combined with the comedic
Soul Eater. With some pizazz.
drawings of the artists. This gives it an anime meets Nightmare Before Christmas feel to it. The grinning Sun and Moon with blood dripping from their teeth give it that comedic element, mixed with the morbid. The grim reapers and monster encountered, drawn in what appears to be Jack the Ripper Whitechapel area sets up one of the best environments I’ve ever encountered in an anime.
Black Star. Badass.
And there are some great english voice actors that are in this anime. It would take too long to give a whole list, so I’ll just highlight a few. I thought Micah Solusod gave a great performance as Soul Eater, Maka’s weapon scythe. His grave voice and determined attitude comes across great through Micah, although I’ve never heard of him before. Brittney Karbowski was amazing as the cocky Black Star, my all time favorite ninja child and all around badass. John Swasey was great as Lord Death. His goofy voice gave the anime a Jack Skellington element with his personality and outlook. Vic Mignogna was hilarious as Maka’s father and Death Scythe Spirit. His obsession with seeking his daughter’s approval was always worth a laugh. Chuck Huber was fantastic as the madness induced Professor Doctor Franken Stein. His tormented character fought back and forth, and this was amazingly done by Huber. Maxey Whitehead was great as the insecure, gender-bender Crona. The duo of Crona and Ragnarok against the world and the lack of acceptance was heart wrenching to say the least. And yes, Troy Baker was amazing as Excalibur, the useless, fool dueling weapon of legend and lore.
And that’s about it. To get too much into the story might ruin the anime with spoilers, so I’ll leave you with this. If you’re looking for a light-hearted shonen with gore, guts (courage/bravery), and glorious fighting, this anime is for you. I give Soul Eater a 9 out of 10.
And here’s a taste of the show with a tribute to Death the Kid and the sexy Thompson Twins. Hooray.
For starters, I really liked the way this anime started off. It’s been a while since I watched it (only a few weeks, don’t worry, it’s still hella fresh), but the first episode really stuck out to me. I love the way certain anime start off with no clues as to what’s going on and let’s you figure out at what poin that initial scene will come back into relevancy. This show did a great job with that. Bringing in a climatic scene to show off the fighting and style of the anime was a great diving off point. And then, as is shown, we are given a build up in the show.
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