Genshiken – Complete Collection (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

“An anime series that anime, video game and manga fans can watch and enjoy immensely. One of the most unique, hilarious and enjoyable anime series that I have watched complete in one sitting and feel the need to rave to friends to check out! It’s that good!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Genshiken Complete Collection

DURATION: 300 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Animated, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC0

COMPANY: AnimeWorks

RATING: 13 and up

STAFF INFORMATION:

ORIGINAL MANGA: Shimoku Kio

DIRECTOR: Ikehata Takashi

SERIES COMPOSITION: Yokote Michiko

MUSIC: Takumi Masanori

CHARACTER DESIGN: Kinoshita Hirotaka

ART DIRECTOR: Okui Shin

CHIEF DIRECTOR: Kinoshita Hirotaka

CAST INFORMATION:

Kohsaka Makoto – Saiga Mitsuki

Kasukabe Saki – Yukino Satsuki

Sasahara Kanji – Ohyama Takanori

Ohno Kanako – Kawasumi Ayako

Kugayama Mitsunori – Nomura Kenji

Madarame Harunobu – Hiyama Nobuyuki

Tanaka Soichiro – Seki Tomokazu

Sasahara Keiko – Shimizu Kaori

Genshiken Chairman – Ueda Yuji

Sasahara appears to be a quiet college freshman but certain darkness lurks within his soul. For one thing he knows what “cosplay” is and he’d like to know more. He knows how to unlock all the secret characters in Guilty Gear X and he’d like to know more. He knows what the plot twist is going to be in episode twenty-five of Kujibiki Unbalance because he’s read the manga and he’d like to know more.He’s heard of Doujinshi and he NEEDS to know more. Enter Genshiken the barely legitimized Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture home to all the various subspecies of Otaku!

It’s very rare for me to watch an anime series that catches my attention like “Genshiken” has. Sure, there are anime series that I enjoyed and can’t stop watching but for this anime series, after I was done, I wanted more! I wanted to share it with friends. I just had a great time watching the series and I hope more and more people discover it!

The TV series debuted back in 2004 and is based on a manga series by Kio Shimoku that was serialized in Kodansha’s “Afternoon” magazine back in 2002.

Directing the series would be Ikehata Takashi knwon for his work with “Inuyasha”, “Angel’s Egg” and “Turn A Gundam”.

But the overall series centers around a club at Shioo University. With various clubs to join, the first episode features freshman Sasahara Kanji who is looking for a club to that fits his tastes. As an anime fan, he is curious about the anime club, as a manga fan he is curious about the manga club. He meets Kohsaka Makoto who introduces him to a club known as “Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai” aka Genshiken (The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture). Which is literally a club that features a group of guys into anime, manga, video games, cosplay and ecchi dojinshi. Not specific to one thing but embraces it.

Along the way, we are introduced to other characters:

Kohsaka Makoto – Kohsaka is an otaku in a sense with his hobbies. Loves fighting video games, watches a lot of anime, listens to drama CD’s but unlike otaku, he’s very stylish from his hair to his clothing. Also, a master at the fighting video game “Guilty Gear XX”.

Kasukae Saki - A lot of the episodes center around her character. She is stylish and has fallen for Makoto (they eventually early on become boyfriend and girlfriend) but she can’t understand why he’s so hardcore otaku and just wants him to stop associating with the otakus of Genshiken and would very much like to see Genshiken stop. But eventually joins after the Genshiken chairman reveals to her that he knows some of her secrets.

Madarame Harunobu – The major otaku member of Genshiken and later becomes the club leader.

Tanaka Souchirou – The cosplay photographer of the club who likes to build cosplay outfits for girls. Also, the member who is totally into building plastic models.

Kugayama Mitsunori – The big, overweight member of the club. A good artist but not really motivated.

Ohno Kanako – The first female member of Genshiken that has a major interest in cosplay (and a fetish towards balding men)

The 12-episode series features a variety of storylines but what is most impressive is the tight writing behind the characters development and their various club activities.

I enjoyed every episode but a few of my favorites are:

Episode 3 – “Problems and Merits of Local Culture Promotion” - In this episode, the guys go to ComiFes and you learn through Sasahara’s first time of how long it takes to get into the event (and also to leave). With so much effort to get there and be the first to get limited edition dojinshi and swag, things go for the worse when Madarame falls on his hand.

But coming so far, Madarame is determined to get his limited edition’s knowing that his hand continues to get worse and worse and he possibly may have broken it.

This is a hilarious episode to see how these guys go crazy for ecchi dojinshi and how crazy they are about their fandom.

In episode 4 titled, ““The Sublimating Effects of the Dissimulation Brought on Through Makeup and Costume on Mental Obstacles”, Genshiken gets a new member by the name of Ohno Kanako. A girl who just came back from America that has long black hair and loves to cosplay. But for Saki, she doesn’t understand why a girl would want to join a club like Genshiken but due to her curiosity, she can’t help but understand a female’s perspective of being an otaku.

A hilarious episode just to see stylish Saki having a hard time comprehending female otaku’s and cosplaying.

In episode 6 titled “On Connecting with Others through Subculture”, Saki feels a bit underappreciated in her relationship with Kohsaka because of his otaku obsessions. So, she decides that maybe by taking an interest in video games (or game), she can get closer to him and have him pay more attention to her.

So, the guys teach her how to play “Puyo Pop Fever” and hopefully by playing a video game with Kohsaka, it will improve their relationship. Also, an introduction to Sasahara Keiko, Kanji’s younger sister who is a teen who is very outgoing and develops a crush towards Kohsaka but is in total shock that he is an otaku but yet looks so cool, stylish and handsome on the outside.

In episode 10 titled ““The Fetishism of Leisure Time Expenditures Considered by their Economic Result”, the club go to the beach and accompanying them is Kanji’s younger sister Keiko who is determined to get close to Kohsaka despite Saki being there. This leads Keiko to devise a plan by getting into her older brother’s anime series and watching them to get closer to Kohsaka.

This is a hilarious episode as Saki does what she can to prevent Keiko from getting close to her boyfriend.

And possibly my favorite episode, episode 11 titled ““On the Presence of Malicious Intent in Urban Crimes”. Something bad happens to the Genshiken club (a fire accidentally started by Saki) and their membership is revoked. In return, the club’s status in the upcoming cosplay contest is jeopardized but knowing that she owes the club big time, Saki agrees to the club’s demand to cosplay as the “President” character from their favorite anime series “Kujibiki Unbalance”.

This is also where “Genshiken” shines is that within this anime series, the group are fans of a TV anime series titled “Kujibiki Unbalance” (which is also released on DVD from AnimeWorks and OAV’s are featured in the anime DVD releases).

VIDEO:

For a 2004 TV series, colors are vibrant. I really enjoy the character designs and overall everything looks good.

AUDIO:

I watched the series mostly in Japanese (with English subtitles) but rewatched a few episodes via the English dubs and both are well-acted. English dub gives a different feel and vibe in my opinion but I realize that many anime fans dig the voice work for this series. So, it’s all good on both audio fronts.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

This is where each volume shines! There are a lot of special features. I mean A LOT!

Sure, you get the no-text opening and ending themes but there is a featurette for character show 2004 with the Japanese voice talent, a performance by Under 17 (Halko Momoi’s group) that performed the theme songs for “Kujibiki Unbalance”, an interview with the Japanese director Ikehata Takashi, interview with Ohyama Takanori (Sasahara Kanji) and Kawasumi Ayako (Ohno Kanako). Also, a press conference interview with Kawasumi Ayako (Ohno) and voice actress from “Kujibiki Unbalance” and just the Q&A was hilarious as the girls shared their opinions on “otaku” and which guy would they date from “Genshiken”.

But the biggest addition were the inclusion of the three “Kujibiki Unbalance” OAV’s. Clips from the series were shown during “Genshiken” as the club would watch the TV series in their club room. Granted, the series may not make much sense but fortunately, three volumes of the TV series are now available from AnimeWorks and those each include an episode of the three additional OAV’s of “Genshiken” (which introduce new characters to the club).

I really enjoyed this anime series!

One of the main reasons is because in college, I created a club similar to Genshiken but mainly a club where Japanese and Americans can get together and share their passion for Japanese music, variety shows, doramas, anime, video games and manga and much more.

We had a pretty big club (our club was the Asunaro Club) and we were not recognized officially by our campus, we had no interest in joining the Japanese club or the anime club but yet, we still put our event posters or flyers on campus walls and had some really awesome parties and get-togethers.

Similar to Genshiken, we had our stylish girls and we had our share of video game and anime otaku. We had girls who questioned our otaku members why they were into their crazy things. But yet, everything was all good and we had fun!

So, when I watch “Genshiken”, it reminded me of our club events and our get-togethers and the crazy situations that I had experienced.

Every episode was awesome! The characters were just well-liked and the story, I felt was just well-written and anime, manga, cosplay, hobby and video game fans can really watch and enjoy!

“Genshiken” is truly a unique series and I know about the comparisons of the old “Otaku no Video” anime OAV series which I enjoyed back then but “Genshiken” is much different as each character had something with their mannerisms and things that they liked, really make the series worth enjoying.

As for the DVD, Media Blasters has done the fans an awesome service by providing so many special features including the three OAV’s of “Kujibiki Unbalance”.

Just an FYI though that there are two complete collections available. One that is a “Premium Edition” but there are no differences on the DVD’s but the fact that one has a box and cost more money. The economy edition is if you don’t mind not having the box and just care about the DVD’s.

All in all, “Genshiken” is one of the best anime collections to buy and I can’t wait (and hope) for the second season to be released on DVD.

+ Awesome anime series!

+ Characters that you care about! And well acted both in Japanese and in English.

+ Special features galore!

ANIME DVD REVIEWS | ASIAN ENTERTAINMENT/POP CULTURE DVD REVIEWS

Animation Runner Kuromi 2 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

“An enjoyable parody of the anime industry, ‘Animation Runner Kuromi’ 2′ continues where the last OAV left off. An enjoyable OAV featured with a lot of laughs plus a lot of special features to make this another ‘Kuromi-chan’ OAV definitely worth owning!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Animation Runner Kuromi 2 (aka Anime Seisaku Shinko Kuromi-chan 2)

DURATION: 45 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital Stereo, English and Japanese language, Region 1

CATALOG #: USMD 2334

RATED: 16 and Up

COMPANY: US MANGA CORPS

Released back in 2004

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR & STORYBOARDS: Daichi Akitaroh

CHARACTER DESIGNER & ANIMATION DIRECTOR – Watanabe Hajime

SCRIPT – Itami Aki

SEGMENT DIRECTOR – Tamano Harumi

ART DIRECTOR – Shibata Chikako (Studio Kanon)

MUSIC – Masuda Toshio

PRODUCED BY Yamaguchi Satoshi

ORIGINAL CONCEPT/PLANNING/PRODUCTION by YUMETA CO., LTD.

CAST INFORMATION:

Oguro Mikiko (Kuromi) – Asoh Kaori/Lisa Ortiz

Shihonmatsu Hamako – Yasuhara Reiko/Carol Jacobanis

Takashimadaira Rei – Ishii Koji/Dan Green

Hassaki Hozumi – Matsumoto Yoshiaki/Wayne Grayson

Tanonaka Mizuho – Ito Eiji/Eric Stuart

Haryu Sheiichiro – Ichijo Kazuya/Dan Green

Fukami Aoi – Okamura Akemi/Angora Deb

Horaguchi Mai – Misawa Mayumi/Rachael Lillis

Kuromi is Back!

And more determined than ever to make it in the anime business. But all hell breaks loose when the boss quits smoking just when the workload burst out of control. Can Kuromi overcome this almost insurmountable obstacle?

I really enjoyed the first OAV and getting a chance to see the behind-the-scenes of an anime studio from the animated parody and the abundant of special features featured on the first DVD.

With this second OAV series, “Fruits Basket!” director Daichi Akitaroh, Watanabe Hajime and Itami Aki are back together for round II of the adventures of Studio Petit. And again, the OAV was a winner at the 2005 Tokyo Anime Fair.

This time, Kuromi’s boss decides to have the staff work not on just one series but three series.

For Kuromi, in her mind, more anime series means more staffing but not for Studio Petit. It’s more of everyone shifting their to different priorities and working on three anime series all at once.

Of course, with the staff being pushed to their limits and having to work on three series that are so different from each other, there is worry that the episodes for the series will not be completed in time.

Kuromi tries at first but everyone continues to have their excuses and leave work early.

But things change when the boss of Studio Petit brings in a veteran producer who will do what it takes to make sure the staff completes their deadlines in time, even if that means sacrificing quality. Even if it means firing the staff.

After watching this series, I actually had the same impression of Kuromi that anime studios, when they work on multiple series, more staff is brought in. But after watching this series, I can see how difficult things are if there are no staff hirings and the same staff have to work on multiple series.

This would probably answer why we have seen quality differences in animation (ie. the beginning half of “Ranma 1/2″ and the latter half) why a series was not as good as it use to be.

But all in all, how this is handled on this latest “Animation Runner Kuromi 2″ is hilarious, fun and enjoyable.

VIDEO:

The original OAV series was released back in 2004 and unlike the last series which kept switching from animation to character sketches, this one doesn’t do that. And I didn’t mind that one bit.

AUDIO:

I watched the OAV series both in English and Japanese and both are well done. There is no true action and if anything, it’s more or less an anime that is full of dialogue. But audio for the voice work and music came clear and found no problems.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Central Park Media/US Manga Corps really delivered in terms of special features on the first OAV DVD release. The same with this second DVD.

Included are alternate angles, storyboard features, interview with Daichi Akitaroh, A segment titled “A Day in the Life of Kuromi”, art gallery, sketch gallery, Kuromi trailers and more.

The intervew with Daichi Akitaroh is around eight minutes long and he goes into why a sequel was created and how he wanted to tie up a few loose ends left from the first. How he also wanted to go deeper by adding a rival for Kuromi for this episode.

My favorite was a 10 minute feature with Japanese voice actress Asoh Kaori (Kuromi) having to work as an animation runner for a day at an anime studio.

In this featurette, Asoh goes to the residences of the animators to pick up completed pieces and just running back and forth from the office. Also, a message from the staff behind the second OAV series. This was very fun to watch and although everyone was in a lively mood for this feature, I can only imagine how things are during deadline week at an anime studio.

But again, CPM delivered on the special features for this second DVD.

Similar to the first episode, a parody of what goes behind-the-scenes at an anime studio and the second OAV continues the craziness of the first but also gives some insight on anime studios, dealing with budget and handling multiple series.

It was great to see the first OAV accepted by so many viewers in Japan and thus warranting a second version.

But the good news is that because the first and second OAV series came out years ago, you can find it for a cheaper price online.

The fact that this series parodies an actual anime studio, it is a pretty unique anime series. With the first OAV being a bit more straightforward anime of staff against time, the second OAV is the same but now the staff has to deal with three anime series at one time and the episode has a more of a dramatic storyline as there is now an antagonist who is making life rough for Kuromi and staff.

If you bought the first, you would definitely would want to buy the second OAV. For those wanting a collection box set with both OAV’s, with the state of the anime DVD industry right now, not sure if Central Park Media is interested in doing that. But again, you can find both OAV’s for a low price online if you look.

So, all in all, another cool OAV episode in the life of Kuromi and the staff at Studio Petit. Check it out!

+ A hilarious parody on what goes behind-the-scenes at an anime studio!

+ Really good voice acting on both the Japanese and English dialogue

+ A lot of special features that are enjoyable and informative

ANIME DVD REVIEWS | ASIAN ENTERTAINMENT/POP CULTURE DVD REVIEWS

Animation Runner Kuromi (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

“An enjoyable parody of the anime industry, ‘Animation Runner Kuromi’ is an enjoyable OAV featured with a lot of laughs plus a lot of special features to make this OAV definitely worth owning!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Animation Runner Kuromi (aka Anime Seisaku Shinko Kuromi-chan)

DURATION: 40 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital Stereo, English and Japanese language, Region 1

CATALOG #: USMD 2334

RATED: 16 and Up

COMPANY: US MANGA CORPS

Released back in 2003

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR & STORYBOARDS – Daichi Akitaroh

CHARACTER DESIGNER & ANIMATION DIRECTOR – Watanabe Hajime

SCRIPT – Nagatsuki Toh

STAGE DIRECTION – Tamano Harumi

ART DIRECTOR – Shibata Chikako (Studio Kanon)

MUSIC: Masuda Toshio

CAST INFORMATION:

Oguro Mikiko (Kuromi) – Asoh Kaori/Lisa Ortiz

Shihonmatsu Hamako – Yasuhara Reiko/Suzy Prue

Hozumi Hassaku – Matsumoto Yoshiaki/Wayne Grayson

Tanonaka Mizuho – Ito Eiji/Eric Stuart

Haryu Sheiichiro – Ichijo Kazuya/Dan Green

Fukami Aoi – Okamura Akemi/Angora Deb

Horaguchi Mai – Misawa Mayumi/Rachael Lillis

From Akitaroh Daichi, director of ‘Fruits Basket’, ‘Now and Then, Here and There’ and ‘Jubei-chan the Ninja Girl’

Music by Masuda Toshio (Excel Saga)

THE ULTIMATE BEHIND-THE-SCENES!

Ever wonder what it would be like to work for an animation studio? Kuromi just landed her dream job at the famous Studio Petit, and boy is she in for a rude awakening! The boss is hospitalized moments after she arrives (he gave his life to anime), and suddenly Kuromi is the new head of the ultimate team of slackers! It’s up to her to finish “Time Journeys Episode 2,” or fans everywhere will be let down. Will Kuromi’s love of cartoons clean up this horrible mess…or make an even bigger one?

I bought this DVD immediately when it was released.

Who could pass up an an anime based and parodies the actual anime industry? I’ve heard about these type of parody anime and I recall reading about Mikimoto Haruhiko (“Macross”, “Gunbuster”, etc.) actually creating one but was only given to staff and friends back in the early 90′s but really haven’t seen anything for the many years I have been watching anime.

But there are always stories about the behind-the-scenes of an animation studio and how sometimes the anime that is aired, sometimes gets there within minutes or an hour after finalization. From the crazy tight deadlines and overworked staff, for those of us here in America who will never get to experience or see that kind of work environment of how anime is created and developed, fortunately “Animation Runner Kuromi” is here.

The series is directed by Daichi Akitaro known for his work with “Fruits Basket”, “Now and Then, Here and There” and “Jubei-Chan the Ninja Girl” to name a few. The sreenwriter is Nagatsuki Tou and the OAV won “BEST OAV” Award at the Tokyo International Anime Fair.

The series is about a new employee named Oguro Mikiko (which the president of the company automatically names her Kuromi) who was hired to work at the famous animation studio, Studio Petit.

The studio is behind on schedule for “Time Journeys Episode 2″ and with the boss falling ill, he appoints Kuromi as production desk manager and puts her immediately in charge.

Essentially just a newbie in the industry with hardly any experience, Kuromi is put in leadership position and has to motivate a staff that is too lax and literally a bunch of slackers. With the threat of the second episode of “Time Journeys” not being completed, Kuromi is learning that this staff, during deadlines, they make excuses and end their work early. The fact that many of them work at home, makes it a problem for Kuromi.

Because of their way of working, Kuromi feels dejected and has nightmares that the episode will not get to the TV station on time and feels like quitting.

But Kuromi decides to not quit and make immediate changes that will affect the studio and hopefully they will complete the next episode of “Time Journeys”.

VIDEO:

The original OAV series was released back in 2001 and drawn in a fun, cute manner. Really interesting how the anime switches from animation to the actually sketches during the series. But all in all, the OAV is colorful and the fact that there are many scenes where there is no animation but character sketches makes this OAV a bit unique.

AUDIO:

I watched the OAV series both in English and Japanese and both are well done. There is no true action and if anything, it’s more or less an anime that is full of dialogue. But audio for the voice work and music came clear and found no problems.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Central Park Media/US Manga Corps really delivered on this DVD release by featuring plenty of special features.

Included are interviews with director Daichi Akitaroh and U.S. voice actor Lisa Ortiz, director commentary track, alternate angle storyboards, the animation process – a mini documentary and director’s diary.

For the five minute featurette on the animation process, this features an informative interview with Matt Sheridan on animation, animation staff and how computers have helped the industry.

The interview with Lisa Ortiz clocks around four minutes and Lisa talks about the challenges of doing the voice work of this anime because she had to act while viewing the scenes and a different way for her of doing things. Included is footage during the recording of the English dub voice work featuring Lisa.

As for the interview with Daichi Akitaroh, this one is about five minutes long and was done back at the Big Apple Anime Festival in 2002. Daichi reveals that the characters are based on people he knows and the way they are but a character is not just an example of one person but how several of the negative traits of the characters featured can be a part of an individual. Daichi also goes into how he alleviates some of the nuances faced at an anime studio and more.

But also included is a near 3-minute footage of behind-the-scenes of the creation of this series and I found this to be very cool and glad to see this included on the DVD.

In the DVD-Rom features, an art gallery, script and cast & production credits are included.

I pretty much enjoyed the insight of an anime studio. May it be the parody from the anime OAV or the actual behind-the-scenes footage on the special features.

I’m very glad to see that CPM decided to include so many special features for the DVD release and all in all, it was just a blast to watch, especially if you have interest on what goes behind-the-scenes at an anime studio.

But all in all, this is an OAV that is not meant to be taken seriously, it is not meant to spawn a TV series. It’s just a parody on what goes on at an anime studio and for anime fans to just sit back and enjoy.

It accomplishes what it wants to convey to the viewer. No deep storyline, no major character development. Just an enjoyable and hilarious OAV about woman working her dream job at an anime studio and realizing that it’s all hard work, stressful but is handled in a way that people can watch, understand but laugh at the same time.

I got what I want from it and that’s to learn about the crazy things that go on at an anime studio and the fact that the viewer not only just gets to see a parody of it, but also included in the special features are video footage of people at work. That was great to see!

All in all, I recommend this OAV series for the anime fan who has interest on how an anime series is created.

+ A hilarious parody on what goes behind-the-scenes at an anime studio!

+ Really good voice acting on both the Japanese and English dialogue

+ A lot of special features that are enjoyable and informative

- Not for everyone, especially those who want a deep storyline.

Crest of the Stars – Anime Legends Complete Collection (A J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

“A series that I simply fell in love with and could not stop watching. Watched every episode in one sitting because I simply enjoyed it so much! ‘Crest of the Stars’ features a story with a lot of action, intrigue, interesting characters and a well-written storyline.”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Crest of the Stars (aka Seikai no Monshou)

DURATION: 325 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Animated, Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC

CATALOG #: B000CQQI9Y

COMPANY: Bandai Entertainment

STAFF INFORMATION:

ORIGINAL NOVEL: Morioka Hiroyuki

DIRECTOR: Nagaoka Yasuchika

STORY: Yoshinaga Aya

CHARACTER DESIGN: Watabe Keisuke

ART DIRECTOR: Okada Tomoaki

MUSIC: Hattori Katsuhisa

MECHANICAL DESIGN: Shino Masanori, Tsuneki Shinobu, Moriki Yasuhiro

CAST

Lafiel – Kawasumi Ayako

Jinto Lin – Imai Yuka

Grieda – Uchikawa Ai

Saryush – Suyama Akio

Nantryua – Kurosaki Ayako

Plaxia Lexshue – Takashima Gara

Narrator – Jo Haruhiko

Jinto Lin’s life changes forever when the Humankind Empire Abh takes over his home planet of Martine without firing a single shot. Sent off to study the bah language and culture, Jinto must prepare himself for his future as an Abh nobleman. Entering the next phase of his training, he’ll meet his first Abh, the lovely Lafiel. However, Jinto will soon learn that Lafiel is more than she appears and together they will have to fight for their very lives. Based on the best selling science fiction novels by Hiroyuki Morioka.

For years, I’ve read and heard of how awesome the “Crest of the Stars” and “Banner of the Stars” series are and while I take a break from my “watch every Gundam series” marathon, I decided to purchase “Crest of the Stars” and “Banner of the Stars” and find out for myself why people enjoy this series.

This series could have been the sci-fi cliche of aliens go to planet, aliens threaten inhabitants of planet, inhabitants fight back and war ensues.

But fortunately, “Crest of the Stars” doesn’t go there.

“Crest of the Stars” is the first part of a trilogy based on the manga written back in 1996 by Morioka Hiroyuki. The manga was adapted to 13-episodes and featured on WOWOW back in 1999.

The anime was released in the US by Bandai Entertainment in 2001 and later aired on television on TechTV in 2002.

The story primarily focuses on two characters, terrran Jinto Lin and an Abh named Lafiel.

The first episode starts off when Jinto was a young child. His home planet, Martine, has been invaded by the Abh Empire. The inhabitants wants Martine to defend its planet over any takeover and fight but unknown to them, Jinto’s father, Rock Lyn, the governor of Martine secretly strikes a deal with the Abh.

The deal, he will surrender the Planet Martine to the Abh if he and his family are given a noble position within the Abh. Suffice to say, the Martine’s can not believe that their governor is a traitor and surrendered them to the Abh so easily.

Not knowing what is truly going on, since he was young child, the story flash forwards seven years later as Jinto is now a teenager and prepares for the military academy. He is treated as royalty by the Abh and is a Count and while waiting for his space escort, he meets an Abh girl named Lafiel (who turns out to be an Abh princess) and the two who are similar in age, start to get to know about each other and the differences and similarties between their two cultures.

The main storyline focuses on these two characters as the Abh transport ship they are traveling in, is attacked by the United Mankind (a collaboration between four anti-Abh nations).

Because Jinto is not in the military and Lafiel has not yet completed her full military training, Lafiel is ordered to escape with Jinto to another planet and to contact the empire that they are being attacked by United Mankind.

And the adventure of Lafiel and Jinto begins as they meet many obstacles on their way to another planet/outpost and the storyline focuses on how the two work together to survive, how the learn from each other and grow with each other.

The obstacles include the two needing to refuel and encountering a baron who seems to have plans of what he wants to do with Lafiel and Jinto and another obstacle that includes the two landing in planet that has been captured by the United Mankind and are literally wanted fugitives.

And that is the charm of this series is to watch these two progress and succeed when it seems all is lost. Also, where most of the sci-fi series that feature an occupying force and a clear antagonist and protagonist of the storyline is obviously clear, “Crest of the Stars” features Jinto as a person who really doesn’t have any allegiance to his home planet. All he knows is that he wants to protect Lafiel and be with her.

I just found this whole series to be enchanting, action-packed, beautiful and so original that I fell in love with the series.

AUDIO:

I listened to both the English and Japanese audio. I prefer the Japanese audio way much more over the English dub. Of course, this is an older anime series and I really didn’t expect too much in terms of overall audio but the series features mainly dialog and all in all, everything sounds clear from my sound system.

The background music was also well-done and managed to create an atmosphere for the scenes such as the various action scenes.

VIDEO:

Although an older series, from beginning to end, I really enjoyed the overall environments presented. Backgrounds look great and the character designs are unique to this series.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The DVD features an image gallery and clean opening and ending themes. Also, a segment on Abh culture and history.

There are not too many series that make me want to watch everything in one sitting. Personally, I planned to only watch the first two or three episodes but I was instantaneously hooked to this beautiful series and couldn’t stop.

I really enjoy series that are well-paced and build on character development. I know that reviews I have read from some viewers found the pacing a bit slow for their taste. For me, everything was just right. A good balance of action but most of all focusing and building upon the character development between Lafiel and Jinto and this enhanced the overall story for me, as these two characters just simply make you care.

Also, because this is an older series, I know a lot of newer anime fans have a disdain towards older anime compared to modern standards but it would be a shame for anime fans to bypass “Crest of the Stars” because of its age.  It’s a wonderful series that should be embraced for its well written-storyline especially its strong character development and the balance with its action scenes.

The final episode was touching, especially to see how Jinto has grown through the short time he has been with Lafiel (and possibly vice versa) especially after the credits which shows the characters three years later and leads to the next series “Banner of the Stars” (which I’m currently watching now).

I just found the whole series to be quite special and unique. I wholeheartedly give this anime series a huge “highly recommended” review!

+ One of the coolest, original anime TV series I have seen in a long time!

+ Well-written storyline, characters you care about and a good balance with action!

+ Well done voice acting on the Japanese dub by Kawasumi Ayako (Lafiel) and Imai Yuka (Jinto).

- For those expecting a sci-fi series with more action than character development, you may be disappointed.

NieA under 7 Vol. 1: Poor Girl Blues (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

“An odd anime series that somehow, because of it’s weirdness, managed to keep me watching. Over-the-top and yet, not sure what to think about it but it’s sure is hilarious!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: NieA under 7 Vol. 1: Poor Girl Blues aka NieA_7 or NieA under Seven

DURATION: 100 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/ HI-FI STEREO / RATED 13 UP

CATALOG #: 11560

COMPANY: Pioneer

RATING: 13 and up

STAFF INFORMATION:

IDEA BASED ON gk Characters Designed by Abe Yoshitoshi

DIRECTED AND WRITTEN BY: Sato Takuya

CHIEF DIRECTOR: Tokoro Tomokazu

ANIMATION CHARACTER DESIGNER: Yanagida Yoshiaki

ENOHANA ART DESIGN: Yamashita Akihiko

DESIGN WORKS: Aoki Tomoyuki

ART DIRECTOR: Hirose Ajiichiro

ART SUPERVISOR: Iriomote Michiyo

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Kuwa Yoshito

AUDIO DIRECTOR: Tsuruoka Yota

SOUND DIRECTOR: Owa Yoshio

ANIMATION PRODUCED BY: TRIANGLE STAFF

PRODUCERS: Ueda Yasayuki (Pioneer LDC), Abe Shojiro (Triangle Staff)

How do you solve a problem like NieA?

As a starving student, Mayuko’s life consists of many part-time jobs, a small apartment over a bathhouse, and sleeples study nights. Unfortunately for her sanity, this hard life is complicated by Niea. Niea is a young 7th class under-alien who is living in Mayako’s closet building flying saucers out of trash, eating Mayuko’s food and being a bum. Compared to this stress, the man eating plants and the curry wars are nothing.

Back in 2001, I used to see “NieA under 7″ at a local Gamestop and Suncoast Video and I admit that the quirky cover with some girl with elf-like ears with toe puppets on her toes made me take a second look and consider it for purchase.

But I decided to pass it up and figured that I’d wait until a collection of the series came out and I could buy it for a much cheaper price.

Well, it’s 2008 and now these volumes can be found for under $3-5 online and I figured, what a steal!

So, with quite a number of anime I’m watching more towards the sci-fi or serious side, I figured that I wanted to watch something with a lot of humor and something lighthearted.

Also, another reason that caught my eye were several things.

For one, there is a good staff behind this TV anime series. You have Tokoro Tomokazu (key animation for “Serial Experiments Lain” and director of “Hellsing” and “Haibane Renmei”), Sato Takuya who directed, but also involved with the script and storyboards who was involved with “Serial Experiments Lain” but also the “Phantom Quest Corp.” OAV series, “Armitage III” OAV and Abe Yoshitoshi who provided created the story and art for the original manga and for the anime, provided the character designs and key animation (creator of “Serial Experiments Lain” and “Haibane Renmei”).

With these people involved with two favorites “Serial Experiments Lain” and “Haibane Renmei”, I definitely wanted to check this series out

The other reason is the voice talent behind this series. Kawasumi Ayako who plays the main character Chigasaki Mayuko (who also played Lafiel of “Crest of the Stars”, “Banner of the Stars”, Mogi Natsuki of the “Initial D” Series” and Nomura Miu of “Piano” plus probably close to, if not over, a hundred other anime and non-anime roles) and Miyamura Yuko who plays NieA (known for her roles as Asuka of “Neon Genesis Evangelion” and also dozens of anime and non-anime related roles).

The talent behind this series was a driving factor. So, once I watched the first volume of “NieA under 7″, I was pretty surprised because it was very different from “Haibane Renmei” and “Serial Experiments Lain”, that where those had some serious moments, “NieA under 7″ is a wacky, over-the-top anime series.

In the first episode titled “Alien and Launching UFO Bath”, the series introduces Chigasaki Mayuko. A student who lives at a bath house that her parents once owned. She is living on her own but working multiple jobs to help pay rent and her food. Unfortunately, what she makes barely gives her enough money to purchase any groceries.

Living with her is an alien named NieA. Unemployed, lazy and just mooches off Mayuko. Always hungry and bothering Mayuko for food which Mayuko sharply tells her that she gets no food because she is a freeloader.

Mayuko makes a friend who wants to visit her home and when her friend finds out she’s an alien, she’s willing to pay for their food and NieA goes to great lengths to be on Mayuko’s friend’s good side. That is until NieA does something very stupid and causes problems for Mayuko by putting a large gaping hole in Mayuko’s roof.

In episode 2 titled “Alien and Violence Cosmic Bath”, it is revealed by the bath house owner Kotomi that they are not making much money. With the events that transpired from episode 1 and the destruction caused by NieA, both are required to help around the bathhouse and do manual labor.

But NieA hears a rumor that oil has been found in a crater where the aliens landed and maintenance worker and resident of the Bath House, Someya Genzo comes up with an idea to use this oil as a replacement for the normal oil that is used at the Bath House to save money. So, Genzo, Mayuko and NieA go off to get some oil near the crater area.

In episode 3 titled “Alien and Radio Noise Bath”, we are introduced to more aliens that reside in the Enohana area. Aliens that include a dark skinned alien (with an enormous head) that wears a turban (and for stereotypical purposes, owns a convenience store) and pretends he’s an Indian and other offbeat characters including one who feels that aliens should not be unemployed and should have dignity and is always at odds with NieA.

In episode 4 titled “Alien and a Beginner Waitress Bath”, we learn about Mayuko’s other job outside of paper, she works at a restaurant (that is not doing that well) and delivers the food to customers. Coming to visit is Hongo Geronimo, a childhood friend who is searching for Mayuko to deliver rice from their hometown. But NieA causes some trouble to a rival alien when she charges her restaurant bill on the alien.

The series is just one episode full of humor and laughs and not mean to be taken seriously. From various audio sounds to the mannerisms of the aliens, definitely a series that is just very over-the-top.

Also, interesting is the opening theme by Sion titled “Koko Made Oide” which is probably the first anime theme song that doesn’t sound like an anime theme song. For those not familar with Sion’s vocals, he has a very raspy voice and definitely nowhere near “cuteness” of an anime theme song that some may be used too.

AUDIO:

I listened to both the English and Japanese audio. I prefer the Japanese audio much more but both are clear, since the series focuses more on dialogue for audio.

VIDEO:

Video looked very colorful and vibrant. It’s a later TV anime series and I love the backdrop of the Enohana area, the homes and overall backgrounds. I realized on the credits that they give credit to an art designer for Enohara which was interesting to see.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The DVD features line art gallery and non-credit opening theme. Inside is like a post card and literally cut out characters.

For me, a series like this, at this particular moment is definitely nice. I’m watching a sci-fi anime series, a depress war-based anime series and a series that deals with love triangles. So, “NieA under 7″ surprisingly made things bright and humurous.

Anime like “NieA under 7″ (and other anime like “Azumanga Daioh” and even “Ping Pong Club”) can be seen and viewed by anime fans in a variety of ways. I can see some looking at this series as very funny and humorous and those who are wanting a deep plot, just not really getting into it.

So, this is no “Haibane Renmei” or “Serial Experiments Lain” but that is fine with me. I think that the fact that Abe Yoshitoshi can do something lighthearted and over-the-top without having to go the serious route all the time, makes me respect his work even more.

“NieA under Seven” is definitely for those who are willing to take a step back and enjoy a series episode-to-episode and just enjoy and wonder what the staff will throw at you because it’s that over-the-top and just fun and wacky. I dig that!

So, within my viewing of serious and depressing anime series at this current time, it’s great to finally have the opportunity to check out this anime series and just laugh and enjoy it for what it is.

Again, this is an older anime series that came out back in 2001, so you can literally find it online for $3-5 (new not used), or possibly even cheaper.

All in all, a series recommended for those who enjoy wacky anime series.

+ A series by “Haibane Renmei” and “Serial Experiments Lain” creator Abe Yoshitoshi.

+ Over-the-top, wacky and hilarious!

+ Well done voice acting and a really talented staff behind the series!

- For those expecting another serious anime series from Yoshitoshi Abe, this one is not for you.

Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ – A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 5 (a J!-ENT anime DVD Review)

“The fifth volume of “Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” continues the storyline as the Dark Dragon Princess Ran as she puts a death curse on Akane.  The seven guardians come together to protect Akane and the final eighth guardian is revealed!  Another riveting, climactic volume in the series!”

DVD INFORMATION:

DVD TITLE: Haruka ~Beyond the Stream of Time~ – A Tale of the Eight Guardians Vol. 5

DURATION: Approx. 74 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: COLOR/NTSC / Japanese Audio (Dolby Digital 5.1 ch and Dolby Digital Stereo / English subtitles

CATALOG #: 61479

COMPANY: Bandai Visual/Honneamise

RATING: Suggested 13 and Up

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

STAFF INFORMATION:

DIRECTOR: Tsunaki Aki

SERIES PLANNER: Okazaki Junko

CHARACTER DESIGN: Ohnuki Kenichi, Kotani Khyoko

ART DIRECTOR: Sakamoto Nobuhito

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Arakawa Kousuke

COLOR SETTING: Ario Yukiko

SOUND DIRECTOR: Honda Yasunori

MUSIC: Hirano Yoshihisa

EDITOR: Morita Seiji

Original Story by Tohko Mizuno (serialized in LaLa and Lala DX by HAKUSENSHA)

Opening Song: “Haruka Kimi no Moto e” performed by Morimura Tenma (Seki Tomokazu), Inori (Takahashi Naozumi), Nagareyama Shimon (Miyata Kouki)

Ending Song: “flowin’ -Ukigumo-” performed by Sefle (Akikawa Yuu), Ran (Kuwashima Houko)

Animation Created by YUMETA COMPANY

VOICE ACTORS/ACTRESSES:

Motomiya Akane – Kawakami Tomoko

Minamoto-no Yorihisa – Miki Shin-Ichiro

Morimura Tenma – Seki Tomokazu

Nagareyama Shimon – Miyata Kouki

Fujiwara-no Takamichi – Nakahara Shigeru

Tachibana no Tomohmasa – Inoue Kazuhiko

Eisen – Hoshi Soichiro

Abe-no Yasuaki – Ishida Akira

Princess Fuji – Otani Ikue

Akram – Okiayu Ryotaro

Ran – Kawashima Houko

Abe-no Seimei – Matsumoto Dai

Little Tengu – Shimakta Junko

Tengu – Taniyama Kisyo

At last, the final Guardian makes his appearance for the thrilling climax of the first half of the series!

“Priestess, welcome to my splendid garden”

Akram’s sinister plot engulfs Akane, disturbing the fates of the Priestess of the Dragon God, her Eight Guardians and Ran, the girl who holds the key to Akram’s snare!

In episode 11 (of volume 4), it was revealed that Tenma’s sister Ran (who has been missing and assumed kidnapped) is in this world and she is working with the demon Akram and is possibly also a Dragon Priestess.

Nothing makes sense as of yet but at the end of the episode, Ran made a visit to Akane during her sleep and released a curse that would kill her.

In episode 12 titled “Demon Lurking Darkness”, the seven guardians come together to find out out how to rid Akane of the death curse.  Tenma is wondering why his sister has not recognized him and why she has become this dark entity.  Abe no Yasuaki works quickly to prepare for the cleansing of Akane and return the curse back to Ran, while Tachibana no Tomomasa (Lt. of the Left Imperial Guard) realizes that Guardians share this special bond and yet, he’s just a civil servant that feels a bit of loneliness because he isn’t a guardian.

In episode 13 titled “Release Your Heart”, Abe no Yasuaki is successful in ridding the curse but what he does with it, surprises Akane.  Meanwhile Tenma wants his sister Ran back but the demon Akram tells him that if he wants Ran, she can be exchanged for Akane.  Akane feeling pain for Tenma’s loss, decides by herself to exchange herself for Ran and the Eight Guardians must do what they can to save her from Akram.

The eighth guardian is revealed and the Guardians take action to retrieve Akane but also Ran.

In episode 14 titled “The Rainbow Prophecy”, a rainbow has shown up and in this time period, rainbows are sign of evil and that marks a day of abstention.  Thus Akane is put in a room for protection and to prevent her from traveling to an unlucky direction.  While waiting in the room, a rainbow incarnation comes to delivery a warning to Akane that a war is coming soon and that they must prepare.

VIDEO:

Video is presented in anamorphic 16:9:LB and presented in 1:71:1 aspect ratio. I watched this DVD twice now on my 52″ inch television and on my 24″ iMac. And as I have mentioned before in my reviews, “HARUKA” has beautiful conceptual art when it comes to the backgrounds and just overall, how the whole land just looks lush. Colors galore! And I also enjoy the character designs. The men of course are quite Bishonen but the overall costumes to the colorful settings of the backgrounds mesh well with each other. Beautiful anime.

AUDIO:

As most of Bandai Visual releases, there is no English dub track and as most Bandai Visual releases, the encoding of audio for their DVD’s are top notch as audio is encoded at 448 kbps and clear audio. As for voice acting, I have been so far, very pleased with the Japanese voice acting for the characters.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The “HARUKA” DVD’s do not really come with many special features. Mainly featured on each volume is bonus footage titled “The Demon’s Soliloquy” which is more or less Akram’s voice and his rendition of the teaser trailers.

And as with each volume, there is a four fold, double paged booklet which features episode synopsis, images, character profiles, staff interview with Morita Seiji (editor) and a section titled “Anthology of the Eight Guardians – Poems Unraveled” which features the poetry shown at the end of each episode. Also, an illustration by Morita Nanae.

“HARUKA ~Beyond the Stream of Time~” continues to be a beautiful anime series that has been slowly building up for its first half of identifying the eight guardians and how each have become a guardian.

This volume’s first two episodes (episodes 12 and 13) focus more on the character of Ran and what has happened to her during the time she has been missing.

Episode 14 is more like a bridge for the second half of the series which I would imagine with all eight guardians having been found, now things will possibly become more serious or even darker and eventually leading to a major battle between good vs. evil.

All in all, I’ve enjoyed the series and you get to see various sides of the guardians not seen from previous episodes.

Such as Tachibana no Tomimasa getting a bit jealous because his friend Fujiwara no Takamichi (Vice Minister of Civil Affairs) has not even known Akane that long but yet yearns to be with her and protect her and yet Tachibana, who has been there since the beginning for Akane looks at his life as almost quite boringly.

Then you have Yasuaki no Abe, a character that shows no emotion, almost cold due to his lack of emotions and doesn’t understand Akane’s emotions at all.

Then you have Tenma, who wants to protect Akane but struggles as he is told to decide between his sister Ran or Akane.

Everyone has this sense and purpose to protect Akane and for some, it seems as they are discovering more about themselves and the emotions they feel.

On the other end of the spectrum, you get to see more and more of how evil a person Akram is.

But volume 5 overall is enjoyable and I’m glad to see the first half of finding the guardians now over with.  Now, it’s going to be interesting from here on in as the buildup between Akane and her eight guardians versus Akram and his evil demons.

All in all, an enjoyable anime series thus far.

+ Beautiful artwork and character designs and continuing Bandai Visual/Honneamise quality for audio and video encoding.

+ Really entertaining storyline so far. I really dig the character development for the series.

+ Really good voice acting from top talent from Japan and easy to ready English subtitles

- Unfortunately no English dub for those that need their anime with that option.

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