Hello!
Welcome to The Anime & Manga Review!
It has been my dream to create a world on TheO where users can go for anime and manga reviews and finally here it is! I plan to make this world an active, exciting and helpful place for learning about and finding entertaining manga and anime to read/watch.
Angel"s Egg
Also know as Tenshi no Tamago
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Ok I promised you an anime next, and boy I found one of the most unusual and artistic anime I could!
First off this is an artistic movie. For those of you who have never seen an art movie they tend to be more experimental and very atmospheric, there is less care about clarity of plot and more focus on making something that has meaning and often beauty. And Angel's Egg is no exception. Yoskitaka Amano, character designer of several Final Fantasy games, Vampire Hunter D, illustrated a Sandman comic, and much more, had a hand in creating the story as well as the art style of this movie. (Here take a minute and just look at his absolutely gorgeous work:http://www.elevenland.com/amano/amano.php3.) If you know his art or style then you pretty much know what you're in for for Angel's Egg and whether you're going to like it.
For those of you who are less familiar here's a quick plot synopsis: The story follows a young girl as she cares for an egg she takes with her everywhere. One day a man shows up and begins to follow her as she goes about her everyday life in a strange abandoned world.
Ok I am not going to pretend I understand what this movie is about. It is beautiful and atmospheric and I can't think of much else to say about it. The movie is very slowly paced which is great in that it really let's you absorb the scenery and not so great in that it's, well, slow. That does not make this a bad movie, it just makes it one that requires attention and care when viewing.
So here are some quick tips on whether Angel's Egg is the one you watch today!
--> If you don't like art movies I'd say skip this one. If you're looking for a movie with a strong plot or action, again, this one probably isn't for you.
--> On the other hand if you've been looking to try something different I'd say go for it!
Also, if you, like me, are a big fan of Yoshitaka's work then this is an absolute must watch! His work is stunning and this movie is a great showcase of that!
Ok normally I like to wait for a series to be completed before singing it praises, I've had too many series ruined by rushed sloppy endings, but I really adore this series despite it just getting off the ground. (as in its over the 40 chapter will it make it hump)
First off this isn't my usual cup of tea, I am not a huge fan of school comedies but I love this one! The reason I gave this series a chance in the first place is that I am a big fan of another series by the same author, Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro. (a fantastic mystery supernatural series) So I read the fist chapter and soon enough I was hooked on Ansatsu!
The plot is about a trouble class at an elite school that has been selected to assassinate their teacher, who is an alien (Kinda? He looks kind of like an octopus)(Although rescent chapters suggest that may not be the case) who has announced he will destroy the world within a year and as proof he can do it he puts a big hole in the moon. As part of a deal with the Japanese government he will be the teacher of a high school class but the students are the ones who have to kill him.
Sound silly? Who cares! It's a hilarious series with a healthy balance between silly gags and heart felt moments. It has everything you want and expect from a school place comedy with wonderful new takes on the genre with the addition of assassination and science fiction. The series deals with the schools unusual politics evolving the E class that holds the students with low grades, the scifi elements with the teacher, relationships between the students to the teacher and assassination. That may sound like a lot , but for a long running series it will be perfect. Being somewhat familiar with the author I can say this series is probably in for an interesting ride and I look forward to it.
Having read another series by the same author I have faith in Matsui Yuusei to develop a great story!
~Tsu
Ps. Sorry I've been slow updating lately. I think people read these as my views have been steadily going up and I would like to thank everybody who is and has been patient with me.
Also sorry its been awhile since I've done an anime, watching anime takes longer than reading a manga for me and my times been scarce .I plan to do an anime next, and as always am open to comments and requests or just chatting in general.
KISEIJUU
Other names: Parasite, Parasyte
Author/Artist: Iwaaki Hitoshi
Sometimes you just need a good old school scifi fighting manga! That’s where the fun and enjoyablity of Parasyte comes in.
A manga from the 90s this series has actually been published twice. There’s a “flipped” version (Where they took all the pages and flipped them so the book would read left to right so us English readers would buy them) and then again by DelRey in the now normal and original format. Come on people liked it enough it got published twice!
At any rate the story begins with some unknown race of parasites taking over people brains by eating them. The main character Shunji was a victim of one such creature but the parasite failed to eat his brain and has instead taken over Shunji’s right arm.
Normal parasites eat human flesh but Shunji’s arm can’t do that and feeds on Shunji’s blood. The story progresses to follow Shunji trying to come to terms with his new life while avoiding the other parasites that may try to kill him due to his parasite’s failure.
This series is definitely worth a read! I found it an extremely enjoyable mix of scifi and action. It also has great drama and a strong plot. (Something action series don’t always have) Anyways this series is just great! Also all the parasites are quite cool looking, the character designs for them are really quite impressive! I loved it the first time I read it and I found myself reading it again while prepping for the review and am now addicted again! ^-^;;
If you love old school manga its a must, if you like action scifi, again a must. I think even if those aren’t necessarily your thing this series is still worth while for it’s writing and strong bold lined art style. A very fun and intense read!
Have you read it? Comment!
Read after reading this? Share your thoughts!
Want me to review a series? Let me know!
As always good and bad opinions are welcomed just keep it classy! lol
~Tsu
Dawn Tsumetai Te (loosely translates into something like: Dawn- Cold hands; or “Unfeeling Hands,” personally I think the latter is more true to the feeling of the story) is the story about a high school boy that gets more than he bargained for one night when he encounters the serial killer that has been on the prowl lately and ends up killing him after getting bitten. This series takes a lot of cues from the disease zombie in that people are being taken over by a kind of parasite that feeds on humans and much like a virus lives only to spread itself.
The main character Nagasawa soon discovers that he has also been infected. A government organization agrees to give him the drugs to slow its progress in exchange for his cooperation killing the Nightshift (the name they give the infected) He then tries to come to grips with balancing his secrete cover with his regular life all while becoming more and more aware that he might not be human anymore.
This series really stands out because of it's excellent balance between the character's emotions and the action/horror element. I often find that series with the horror/action feel don't give enough time to character development and I am happy to say I was pleased with Tsumetai Te's attension to that! ^-^
For the most part I really enjoyed this series and do recommend it to zombie, supernatural and action fans. If I had to give one critique it would be for SPOILERS AHEAD a slightly disappointing ending that felt a little too good to be true for my tastes but in the end I am glad I read it and have even reread it. And fear not the fact that its classified as a Josei (a manga aimed a women, the grown up version of shoujo) I actually thought this was a seinen and I think this is a manga that transcends these male/female genres.
If you’re shy of blood or action isn’t your thing this isn’t necessarily for you but the romance, action and drama really bring the world to life and I know I loved reading it!
However if you love your action, supernatural, horror and/or your zombies, READ IT! You won’t regret it!
Have you read it? COMMENT! ^-^
Did you read it after reading this? PLEASE SHARE!
Got a series you want me to review? PM or comment!
Good or bad I like hearing your opinions!
Wanna find another series to read or watch? Check out my other reviews on this world! ^o^/
Want to just chat? I’m game! Lol
LUCIFER AND THE BISCUIT HAMMER
Alternate titles: Hoshi no Samidare, Samidare’s planet／star
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Seinen, Supernatural
Author: Mizukami Satoshi
Oddly not the strangest name for a manga I’ve ever seen, but still very weird. So what is it about? This is a VERY unique, interesting and great story! The story begins with our main character waking up to find a lizard on his bed nothing sums it up like the first two pages of the manga itself “One mourning I woke up. There was a lizard in my room. We stared at each other. And the first to break the silence… was him.”
When I read that I was hooked. The lizard then continues to introduce himself to Amamiya, our main character, and explains that Amamiya is the lizard knight, has the ability to use special powers and is destined to fight against the golems and the Mage to save the world from being smashed by the biscuit hammer. Understandably he has problems accepting this which leads to fun scenes.
He is then introduced to the princess, and other main character, Samidare. It is then that the princess recruits him to help her defeat the mage so that she may be the one to destroy the world. By now you’re thinking this is a silly silly manga with no serious moments but you couldn’t be more wrong. As Samidare and Amamiya meet with the other knights there’s an intense tension that's built from their desire to save the world and Samidare and Amamiya’s secrete desire to destroy it. The knowledge that this will mean they will eventually have to fight their friends and turn against the world creates a surprising amount of tension.
Their battle is intense despite the strange premise, and you feel connected to the characters both in the manga’s good and bad moments. You might even find yourself crying.
Personally I love this series because it has everything I love in a manga! Its funny, but is also heartfelt and serious, it has great action scenes but doesn’t focus just on the battles.
I strongly recommend this manga to anyone who wants an interesting and unique scifi/action/drama/comedy and to anyone who’s just looking for something new and different. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Have you read this manga? did you go read after seeing this? Just want to comment?
Feel free to discuss this here! ^-^
