REVIEW - Tokyo Ghoul (2014) (Plus some extra Thank You stuff)

First things first, Damn, I missed the blogs anniversary!!! I'm so sorry that I didn't do anything special for the anniversary! Anyways, it has been a great year for this blog. I'm surprised that people actually visit this site every day just to read my reviews in some random Game or Anime, so to all of you who actively read my blog I want to say a huge thank you to you guys. I may not update so frequently (considering that in December 2013 I did a review a day) but whenever I do I'm glad at least some people are reading this. Also it may be almosta  week late, but Merry Christmas to all of you who believe in Jesus Christ (I don't but if you do, more power to you) or to be more politically correct, Happy Holidays to all of you.

Anyways, time to do a review. And I guess we'd better close off the year with 2014's most talked about anime (at least on Facebook and Tumblr anyways).

Studio Perriot's adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida

Tokyo Ghoul is a 12 Episode long series produced by Studio Perriot. The essential basics of this story almost feel a bit like Attack on Titan's to a certain extent. In modern day Tokyo, humans live in fear of creatures known as Ghouls. Ghouls are basically the exact same as humans apart from their sense of taste and digestive system. Ghouls taste differs in that everything they eat - minus the flesh of a human being or coffee- tastes like something dirty or slimy. Their hunger can only be satisfied by the consumption of human flesh. Of course the Japanese government has a contingency plan in the form of the CCG, an organization which deals with the elimination of Ghouls. The Ghouls go into hiding so to speak, only eating when they need to. Enter one Ken Kaneki, a college student who's to be honest a pretty normal and decent guy. Halfway through the first episode, Ken's world and life comes crushing down (almost literally in a sense) as he struggles to come to terms with a reality he must face and accept, which to me is what is Tokyo Ghoul's driving force. The story is told through Ken's view of the world as he slowly descends into madness, which is what I love. The action is also a justifiable reason to view this show as it's amazingly well done. What makes the plot work so well though is that, although it's a gruesome horror story, Tokyo Ghoul is a tragedy story which involves physical and psychological torture. It's definitely not for the feint of heart. 

The characters in Tokyo Ghoul are for the most part very well done, minus one glaring exception. Ken Kaneki is a good main protagonist who reminds me a lot of Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion because he's whiny, soft and doesn't quite understand the situation he's involved in, and it's Ken that really pushed Tokyo Ghoul to be the tragedy it is. Touka Kirishima is however, one of the most negative and downright unlikeable characters I've seen in anime. She's so negative and so dismissive of almost everything Ken does that it's almost unbearably annoying in later episodes. She does have her moments yes in the second half, but she's not quite the character that Tumblr fangirls make her out to be. The rest of the cast, without going into too much detail, are all interesting in their own unique ways (particularly Amon of the CCG and the Café owner) and help to flesh out the world a bit more, which I like a lot.

As regards animation, Tokyo Ghoul is visually appealing as it's filled with colour (particularly red, although there's no need to explain why) throughout. It also moves quite fluidly, even during the most intense of action sequences. The scenery - especially during the night - looks breathtaking to say the least, and the characters all look particularly well drawn. Out of any show that came out this year, Tokyo Ghoul I think easily looks the best.

The soundtrack is Mediocre to say the least. There's no real standout BGM track I could really find on the OST that could grab my attention. The ED is the same kinda story, it's a generic rock song that just doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

HOWEVER

I do not know how in the name of God they pulled it off but, the opening is even better than that of Evangelion's  or Attack on Titan's. The song is Unravel by TK from Long Suitre, and my God it's just an out of this world Opening. The build up, the vocals and the instrumental all go well with animation that fits the show's themes and events to a tee. It's the best opening I've heard in anime without a doubt in my mind.

Tokyo Ghoul is an anime that just blew my expectations out of the water. I heard some bad things about this show such as the horrific TV Version's censoring (which isn't an issue now thanks to the BRD Version) and the fact that the main character is a 'whimp' but, does a whimp make an entire show bad? No, no it doesn't. In fact Ken Kaneki's story is one of the best I saw this year in terms of anime. With beautiful visuals, great but sometimes flawed characters and a fantastic story, Tokyo Ghoul is an anime that should be watched by those who love the horror/thriller genre.

Story: 10
Characters: 8
Visuals: 10
Sound: 7
Personal Enjoyment: 10

FINAL SCORE FOR TOKYO GHOUL: 9/10

REVIEW - Tales of Xillia 2 (2014)

Boy it's been a LONG time since I last did a game review. When was it, May with the Bioshock review? I guess a game review is long overdue, and I'm returning with one heck of a weight on my shoulders. I've said it before in the past that this games prequel is my favourite game that I have ever played, so when I got this game day one I didn't know what to initially think.

Luckily, Namco Bandai's Tales of Xillia 2 is a worthy sequel, though flawed in it's own ways.

The story in Tales of Xillia 2 is by far its greatest strength, and what is arguably one of the most depressing, powerfuk and somewhat topical game stories anymore. The schisim dividing Rieze Maxia and Elympios has been dispelled by Milla Maxwell and Jude Mathis, so now the two nations have been connected by a Bridge of Unity at the town of Marksburg. Elsewhere in Elympios, aspiring cook and rarely spoken (he literally only speaks in grunts, short one word replies or an occasional 'OH CRAP!') Ludger Will Kresnik wakes up late on his first day at being a cook at the Spirius Corporation in Trigleph. On his way to work he gets caught up in some nasty business with a little girl, Elle Marta who accuses Ludger of robbery or something (do you really expect me to remember such a minute detail) and Ludger chases her onto the train where he also meets up with Jude Mathis, complete with an EDGY redesign. What follows is a terrorist attack on said train and Ludger is thrown into debt by a fucking dick named Rideaux which wouldn't be a bad thing if IT WASN'T A 20,000,000 GALD DEBT. What follows these events are some of the most emotionally involving and depressing moments in gaming history. Seriously, Xillia 2 plays on and amplifies the originals biggest strength - the characters - and puts them into some dire situations, heightened even more by the fact that characters have their own side-stories now which you can undertake throughout the main storyline. I also love the way it subtly hints at racism aswell, showing the divide between Rieze Maxians and Elympions quite well (one character side story is purely about fixing relations between the two nations). Also added to Xillia 2 was a choice system. At certain parts of the story, you're given the option to chose one of two choices. Sometimes, they're kinda insignificant and only change a characters immediate reply but most of the time it helps build affinity with other characters and also change the ending you get. To conclude, It gets its points across perfectly and never becomes too complex or convoluted, and is one hell of an emotional story.

What annoys me about Xillia 2's gameplay the most - apart from the debt system which I'll get to in a second - is the new level up system, which has been changed to be needlessly complex and complicated. Rather than expanding on the Lilium Orb system from the original, Xillia 2 introduces the Alium Orb. The Alium Orb extracts skills and artes from elements such as Fire and Light as you level up, which is fine but the game never really explains how it actually works and how it affects your stats, unlike the original which gave a decent tutorial on how the Lilium Orb worked. Moving onto the other negative change; adding the Debt. The debt is literally one of the stupidest ideas in the history of the Japanese Role Playing Game. Not because its bad from a plot perspective or because you don't get rewarded (which you do actually) but its because its such a pace breaker. As soon as you complete a chapter, you have to pay off some more of your debt before you can advance which is so annoying especially if a chapter ends on a real OMG moment. Moving onto the positives, and oh my GOD has combat been improved (something I thought not even possible due to the sheer perfection which is the originals battle system). Ludger doesn't have one, not two but THREE INTERCHANGEABLE ON THE FLY Weapons to use in battle, all of which come with their own strengths and weaknesses (some more than others mind you). Another improvement is the new Chromatus system which is basically a temporary God like mode where you can unleash a can of whoop-ass on your opponent with no risk to your own health. The combat is addicting as fast, but also noticeably more difficult than before, due to the INSANE HP of the boss monsters (Even on Easy some of them gave me a hard time) and some ridiculous strategies (CHRONOS I'M LOOKING AT YOU, YOU FUCKER). Most of these bosses come in the form of rare monsters you can find on the new job bulletin, which is basically there for fetch quests, monster hunts and other things just to help repay that awful debt.

Graphically, not much has changed in a year has it? I mean it still looks amazing and the anime cutscenes by studio ufotable ( of Kara no Kyoukai fame ) look gorgeous but...there are a LOT of reused environments from the first game. Now this isn't really a bad thing since there are plenty of new places aswell but I was expecting more from this game (perhaps my hopes were just a bit too high). The game does have a more noir and tech-esque tone to it though, which does save it to bring that graphical fidelity back upt a 10 (the world looks bloody fantastic I have to say)

Tales of Xillia had my favourite gaming soundtrack of all time because it gave the world a perfect atmosphere (remember the first time you went on the Aladhi Trail in the original game and the music started playing? THE FEELS MAN), and thankfully - even though a lot of it is a reused soundtrack - Tales of Xillia 2 keeps the ball rolling with an almost excellent soundtrack, the highlights being the final boss theme (which is a remix of the lackluster Main Theme 'Song 4 U by Ayumi Hamasaki, which is a shame since she did so amazingly well in the original game) and the games first battle theme which is so catchy and is STILL Stuck in my head.

 

 

FUCKING MADOKA MAGICA DLC

Overall....Tales of Xillia 2 is a masterpiece in storytelling, direction, tone, and character although its flawed gameplay, heavy reliance on the original games resources and music do bring it down from being one of the best games ever. While it may not be a perfect game by any means of the imagination, I do think it's one of the best sequels in gaming and a perfect way of showing the importance and power of choice in video games.

STORY: 10
GAMEPLAY: 9
GRAPHICS: 10
SOUNDTRACK: 9
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: 10

FINAL SCORE FOR TALES OF XILLIA 2: 9.6/10

REVIEW - Denpa Teki na Kanojo (2009)

When I look back on certain anime, I think to myself "Hmm, wouldn't that have been better if it had a second season? Wouldn't that have been better if that were just a bit longer?" and thing along those lines. Regardless or not of whether or not the actual anime was bad, there was always a feeling in my heart and head that it was just shy of being something great because it lacked something that either more episodes or a second season could've fixed. And unfortunately today's anime also falls under that category.

Denpa Teki na Kanojo by Brains Base.

DTNK is a 2 Episode OVA series that has a 40 minute or so run time per episode. It focuses on one Juu Juuzawa, a high school delinquent (Sounds sort of familiar) who doesn't really do much apart from getting into trouble and causing people grief if they bother him. One day, along comes a strange and mysterious girl named Ame Ochibana, who by the way is in a real need of a haircut. Anyways, Ame calls Juu her 'master', to Juus confusion he starts running away from Ame simply because she acts quite like the stalker-ish type of lady. These events happen during a series of murders throughout their home city. One night while walking home, Juu sees a mutilated corpse hung up beside a sign post with some wire. To his shock, Ame appears out of nowhere and tells him about how this all happened. Juu suspects Ame, but she is not the culprit. The rest of the first episode basically boils down to a 'catch the killer' type of thing, with a real kick-in-the-balls twist coming near the end that genuinely shocked me. In fact, that's something that is the plots greatest point; it's genuinely shocking. There are some images in this anime that - while not on the absurd level of Elfen Lied - still manage to shock and unnerve the viewer. The big problem however is the limited amount of shock scenes, because of how extremely short the series is. Like mentioned above, it's 2 40 minute long episodes which leave barely any room for character development. If they kept this formula for let's say, a half season 12/13 episode series, then I think it'd be much better, especially if it paced it's shocking moments well like in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. This show reeks of wasted potential, but fortunately the two episodes are good enough to make them stand on their own.

When it comes to the characters, I would say they're interesting but they have little to no development which again comes from the series short length. I would say that the supporting cast, or rather the 'villains' for lack of a better word are probably the most interesting of the characters, mainly due to how psychologically twisted they are. A la Neon Genesis Evangelion (but to a lesser extent), these characters witnessed or were affected by something traumatic in their lives which made them go - for lack of a better word - insane. The main cast are serviceable, but as I said they lack development so I didn't really get attached to them at all.

Let's play 'Spot the Main Character'

On the animation front, it looks absolutely fantastic and it's arguable the shows biggest strength. All the characters, while not extremely detailed, blend in well with their environments and move fluidly around the 'set' well. The lighting is top class and it even rivals Kara no Kyoukai in that respect (Yes, I did just say that). The backgrounds look great too, with immense detail put into them. On the sound front, I found it rather forgettable and quite dull. Nothing more to say in regards to that.

Overall this show could have been so so soooooooo much better if it had been a 12/13 episode long series. The plot has so much more potential and the characters have so much more room to be developed on. However, despite that and some sound issues, Denpa Teki na Kanojo is a good show to watch if you simply want to pass some time. It's excellently drawn and it makes for some great popcorn material too.

STORY: 8

CHARACTERS: 6.5

ANIMATION: 10

SOUND: 4.5

PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: 8

FINAL SCORE FOR DENPA TEKI NA KANOJO: 7.4/10

FIRST IMPRESSIONS - Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) [Episodes 1-20]

First Things first:

KIMI NO TEDEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, KIRI SAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Secondly, these impressions are of the 2003 original series, not the 2009 Remake/Retelling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Fullmetal Alchemist had to be one of the anime that I was conflicted about the most before watching. On one hand, there was the side nagging me not to watch it because it's 51 Episodes long. On the other, I kept on hearing about how great it was to watch. I eventually said 'fuck it' and started watching the series. 

The story of FMA is strange in the sense that it doesn't follow its source material for over half the show. Fullmetal Alchemist was originally a manga created in the late 1990's but when the 2003 series started airing it hadn't finished yet, so the anime team decided on taking its own route. From what I've been hearing, all the original content is good stuff so I have no complaints. What I do have a complaint about however is the chronology of some things early on in the show - it's all over the place. The backstory behind Edward and Alphonse's quest is revealed after some events that take place between episodes 15-20 (the events I'm talking about are actually the first two episodes - see how things can be confusing?) and this just leads to viewer confusion when you try to think about it. Other than that it's a very nice and sweet story fueled by determination and - no pun intended - Brotherhood to carry it along.

Characters are great. Edward Elric is a strong main protagonist, who does have a short temper and a will that cannot be contained.....Seems familiar? Well FMA did come first so I'll let that one slide. Alphonse is very hit and miss so far. I can't really tell what his purpose is - is he just a motivator for Ed? Again no pun intended, but Al just seems like an empty shell so far. He doesn't really develop although he does have great chemistry with Ed and the comedy between them is amazing. My personal favourite character has to be Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang. Not only is he a hard eye, no shit-taking soldier but he is just so random sometimes, which is what makes me love him. He's a very quotable character too and I just love his English voice.

Animation is my only real issue with this series, and it mainly comes down to the colour. I think that FMA has to be one of the most drab and dull looking anime ever. Most scenes take place at either night time or inside some sort of complex in the desert regions, so a lot of browns and greys and duller colours are used. As a Result, the show looks awfully flat and it's what marrs FMA Seriously. Its hard to think that the people who did Cowboy Bebop did FMA.

Musically, FMA is great with some amazing atmospheric pieces and great BGM. The Two Openings I have heard so far are great, my personal favourite being the first Opening Melissa by Porno Graffiti (yes that is their name).

So far, FMA is a fantastic anime that is marred only by its poor animation. I'll have a full review of this show up in the future when I've completed it.

REVIEW - Claymore (2007)

Comparisons can often be one of the worst things to do in regards to anime, as people misconceive what a comparison actually is. I'm not entirely sure as to whether or not this shows that people are really narrow minded or that people have no idea what they're talking about. Case in point, today's anime, which I often hear as being Attack on Titan before Attack on Titan was even a thing.

Claymore by Studio Madhouse

Claymore is a fantasy-action survival series based off the manga of the same name (for the first 24 episodes anyways - the final two try to conclude the anime's own self-contained plot). It follows w woman named Clare, who is a warrior clad in White and Silver. Clare is part of what is unofficially known as the 'Claymores', a group of female warriors who are genetically enhanced to fight off creatures known as Yoma, who feed off of Human flesh. Yoma have the ability to disguise themselves as Humans, so humanity is under a huge threat at all times. One day, Clare arrives in a town and meets Raki, a young boy whose family has been ravaged by a Yoma. After saving Raki's life, Clare allows him to join her and sort of becomes a mother figure to Raki. Clare's motivation for fighting the Yoma is clouded at the start of the series, but through her flashbacks and memories we see her real reason for joining the Claymores and - as the series tagline goes - wanting to 'fight for revenge'. What I like about this set up is that I love revenge fueled plots (as evidenced by my liking of Attack on Titan) but where Claymore falls is that sometimes scenes are needlessly dragged out, which leaves you extremely tired after watching an episode. Also as mentioned before, the final two episodes of the anime deviate from the Manga's plot and therefore give us a rushed and incomplete ending to the series which leave you on such a cliffhanger, and I hate those 'Read the Manga' endings.

The characters in Claymore are some of the best and worst parts of this show, and I'll just say it now; Yes, Raki is by far one of the most annoying characters in any anime ever (especially in the English Dub, which isn't really Todd Hackerborn's fault but even still) and I honestly think his addition to the plot was only necessary to give our main heroine some development in the present (as Claymore takes place in two time periods - when Clare was a child and her as a Claymore). Clare herself is a bit of a mixed bag. I think that she's a good character but some of the decisions she makes are pretty damn stupid (particularly when it comes to Combat...although you could blame this on her being the lowest ranked Claymore). She's a bit rash and improvises - normally resulting in a positive result - but sometimes she can just be extremely stupid.

Animation is another mixed bag. The animation itself is fantastic, with amazing and intense action all going at a fluid and smooth frame rate. The problem for me is the inconsistent art style, which can sometimes just look extremely ugly and other times quite unique. What I can say though is that if you're a goreaholic (which I know a few of) Claymore is sure to entertain you regardless of whether or not it looks ugly.

The one excellent standout thing Claymore has is the soundtrack, headlined by what is definitely my favourite ending theme to any anime, Danzai no Hana (Flower of Conviction) by Riyu Kosaka. Oh My God....I have never heard anything quite like this song. Another great track is the opening, raison d'etre By Nightmare. The rest of the OST is great, fitting with the mood and setting quite well. When the action heats up, so does the music which is again, a perfect fit.

Fundamentally, Claymore is a solid shounen anime which follows tropes which ultimately lead to its downfall. While it's nice to see a cast that's mainly strong, the decision making of said cast is quite questionable. Another annoyance is the inconsistent animation, which is really a pain to look at sometimes but at others is gorgeous. The music is without a doubt the highlight and is definitely iPod worthy.

Story: 8

Characters: 5

Animation: 6

Music: 10

Personal Enjoyment: 6

FINAL SCORE FOR CLAYMORE: 7/10

FIRST IMPRESSION - Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2013)

Every so often there comes along a game that seems to captivate me with its magical setting, adorable characters and heartwarming plot. Games that do this normally are some of the best ever made, and the game I'm talking about today - albeit based on a 14 hour experience of a supposedly 60 or so hour game - hits home very very well, especially for a Japanese Role Playing Game.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a game developed by Namco Bandai with animation done by the world-renowned Studio Ghibli. The basic plot is that a young boy named Oliver has lost his mother due to a heart Condition and he has to go to a magical world with a 'fairy' named Mr. Drippy to save her. Along the way he meets many magical people, visits strange and unique places and an expansive fantasy world to explore. It's safe to say that Ni no Kuni goes along the usual Studio Ghibli plot about young people and loss, but it's not necessarily the plot or characters that interest me - it's the fantastic setting. I don't think I have ever played a game with a world as expansive and as magical as this. Not even Rieze Maxia in Tales of Xillia comes close to the size and charmfullness of this games world. It's a massive open expanse filled with caves and interesting places to go, and the towns are brimming with charm, personality and character. It's probably the best setting to any RPG I have ever played.

Another strong point is how deep the actual gameplay is. Yes there's a tutorial but it's never really intrusive (apart from one point about 6-8 hours in). There's so much to do in this game it's unnatural. There's Alchemy, brewing, bounty hunts, fetch quests, catching familiars, raising familiars and battling monsters. Battling is sort of like a mixture between turn based and real time combat. You can run around the battlefield in real time but you have to pick commands from the menu. It's a very strategic system since you have to chose what familiars are best for each battle and monster.

Finally, the presentation of Ni no Kuni is again fantastic. The animation done by Studio Ghibli is top notch as expected of them and the in game graphics look really nice and unique. The world looks very well done and again, each area is different to the last in terms of personality and looks. On a musical front, Joe Hisashi's compositions are a joy to the ears. The overworld theme and PS3 battle theme (The DS version has a different one for some reason) are quite spectacular.

THOUGHTS - Evangelion 3.0: You can (not) Redo

So, I gave in and watched the 3rd and currently most recent movie in the Rebuild of Evangelion saga, You can (not) Redo and to be honest, the movie blew me away in so many ways. I guess the first thing that hit me was the Ending of 2.22 having such an impact on the series and how this movie is completely different to the original Neon Genesis Evangelion. Like, okay Shinji fucked up trying to save Rei - he fucked up big time. He nearly causes Third Impact for Christs sake. 14 years later and it's 2029 and everyone hates Shinji. Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko, they all hate him, and in fact they hate NERV too. Why would they hate NERV? Because they (who dissolved from NERV, who are now known as WILLE [best name 10/10 organization]) realized that Gendo Ikari wants to initiate Third Impact, in fact Rei stays behind because Gendo tells her to and Shinij finally realizes that REI IS A FUCKING CLONE OF HIS MOTHER.

Nagisa makes his grand return into the Eva universe in this film, only to [SPOILERS] die again because of Shinji's stupidity. The ending of the movie also makes a head turn, with Asuka, Shinji and Rei all walking away from the destroyed Tokyo-3 and leaving it open for the fourth and final movie; 4.0 FINAL. Now to be honest, this movie is a complete game changer. It destroys the plot of NGE and it goes it's own way, and I am fine with that. I still think 2.22 is a better movie, but 3.0 is a great watch for those who are wanting more Eva. I won't score it, but I'll tell you that it's worth watching just to see how weird things get when Hideaki Anno and his team are pushed out from the original NGE's plot.

REVIEW - The End of Evangelion (1997)

To say that Studio GAINAX's 1995 anime Neon Genesis Evangelion was anything less than a success would be lying right out of my teeth, but when things become popular, they also get their haters. Evangelion's biggest flaws to most people were both the animation in the later episodes and the highly controversial ending (which creator Hideaki Anno received DEATH THREATS over). However due to the success of the series, Gainax decided to amend the ending of the TV Series with two theatrical animated movies. The first of these, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth was simply just a recap of the TV series and the first half an hour of the movie that I shall be reviewing today. Boy, if you thought the ending to the TV series was intense...you ain't seen nothing, NOTHING yet.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Studio GAINAX's wonderful mindfuck known as The End of Evangelion.

Forewarning: SPOILERS AWAIT IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH

The End of Evangelion picks up after Episode 24 of the original TV Series. The Angels are dead. Shinji Ikari and NERV are victorious in their battle against those who are bent on the systematic destruction of humanity, Gendo Ikari has every card possible that he could, it seems all could be well.

Ladies and Gentlemen when your movie opens with a 14 year old boy masturbating over a 14 year old comatose German girl you know you're in for some fucked up shit.

SEELE, another organization who are in charge of the Evangelion Units 5-13 decides to kickstart the key plot goal from the original TV Series; The Human Instrumentality Project and the coming of Third Impact (WHICH BY THE WAY IS WHAT THEY SPENT 26 EPISODES OF EVANGELION TRYING TO FUCKING AVOID). The Japanese Special Service Defence Force begins an all out assault on NERV HQ. Shinji is lethargic after his traumatising battle against the final Angel, Kaworu Nagisa (the only person who ever actually showed Shinji an inch of compassion in his entire life), Asuka is in a coma and Rei is STILL trying to figure out what her real purpose is, even though she's not the real Rei Ayanami and just a clone of Shinji's mother, Yui. A mass exodus occurs at NERV, Ritsuko is murdered by Gendo right in front of Rei and Lillith and Misato promises to have sex with Shinji if he gets in damn robot which can't happen because A: SHE'S LIKE 27 AND HE'S 14 and B: Misato is shot and bleeds out to death, not before giving Shinji a kiss before abandoning him in front of his Evangelion. Asuka meanwhile was placed in Unit-02 in the Geofront's lake and immediately wakes up out of her coma and sees 9 Evangelion units wanting her blood. She realizes that she has to kill them all in what has to be one of the best and most iconic fight scenes in anime history in order to survive, which she does

Oh if only that were the case

The dismembered Evangelion units repair themselves and proceed to absolutely demolish Unit-02, with one of them using the Lance of Longinus to pierce the Eva's head and destroying Asuka's left eye....which leads us into the most iconic and arguably the best few seconds of the whole Evangelion franchise (Skip to 8:10)

Asuka obviously dies just in time for Shinji to arrive in Unit-01 and see the gruesome scene around him. The 9 Evangelion's take advantage of this moment to use Eva Unit-01 to initiate Human Instrumentality, which also involves Rei merging with Lillith and Becoming God.

You still with me? Well the worst part is yet to come.

Shinji and God begin their transcendence to the heavens as they merge together through God's FOREHEAD EYE VAGINA (I am not even kidding) as everyone on Earth slowly becomes a mess of LCL and clothing due to Third Impact. Shinji accepts the fact that the world must be remade to advance humanity, there's a red mark on the moon, the 9 Eva's are all crucified and worst of all Shinji ends up on a beach alone with Asuka - who by the way is ALIVE now - and although he almost fucking chokes her to death, he realizes that they must repopulate the planet to evolve humanity and OH MY SWEET FUCKING JESUS IS THIS MOVIE THE DEFINITION OF A MIND FUCK THROUGH A SCREW HOLE WHEN WILL IT FUCKING END.

*ahem*

It is safe to say that, this movie is not for everyone. Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm not going to bother going further than giving you the score this time, because this movie is something else. The first half an hour to an hour of it isn't too bad, it's typical EVA, but once Asuka begins her fight....the movie spirals out of control. The animation is much improved on from the original series and the soundtrack is just unnerving right to the core. I'm giving The End of Evangelion a 6.2/10 because of how bloody weird and hard to comprehend it is.

QUICK REVIEW - Rebuild of Evangelion 1.11 and 2.22

Now this isn't going to be anything like a normal review, it's just gonna be a couple of paragraphs on each movie maybe with a picture or two sprinkled in for a more visually appealing review :)

You are (not) Alone (2007)

Probably the most literal rebuild of the Rebuild's so far, Evangelion 1.11: You are not Alone is pretty much a shot for shot remake of episodes 1-8 of the 1995 anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. Now, while some people may think this is a bit strange  that Evangelion would be getting a remake already but hey Hideaki Anno's an indecisive guy who just wants to screw with us fans because he enjoys seeing us suffer (he legitimately does). The story is exactly the same; Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami are two 14 year old children with more mental catastrophes than you can shake a stick at and they are tasked with piloting the synthetic humanoid lifeform known as "Evangelion", a mech that's designed to combat Angels, giant monsters who really want humanity dead after something 15 years ago called the Second Impact. Of course there's more to it than that but of the two movies I have seen upto this point, there's not a lot different about 1.11 and the original series' first 8 episodes. The animation quality far surpasses the original show however, and each scene is re-created faithfully to its original counterpart. The soundtrack is mainly the same but redone with higher quality instruments, but there are a few new tracks such as the FANTASTIC Angel of Doom. On it's own, You are (not) Alone is a great tribute to the original series and an entertaining as hell movie to watch.

You can (not) Advance (2009)

Now, onto the final movie that I have seen of the 3 currently available movies; Evangelion 2.22: You can (not) Advance. This movie is where the plot deviates from the original series is some places (such as Asuka being not only the pilot for Evangelion Unit-02, but also the test pilot for Unit-03, originally Toji's role in the original anime) but it still goes upto the point where Shinji fights the Angel that infiltrates NERV HQ (not the Final Angel) but after that things change in preparation for Evangelion 3.33: You can (not) Redo (which I am waiting for its dub before watching). The animation is still beautiful and the soundtrack still orgasmic, however the events portrayed in this movie are epic as fuck...so epic in fact that 2.22 is my favourite movie ever made - anime or otherwise.

REVIEW - Sakura Trick (2014)

So guys, I think I finally found it. Something that rivals Sword Art Online as the absolute worst anime I have ever seen (although it doesn't beat it, I'll get to that at the end). There's no point in even waning in this paragraph because I'm just putting it off aren't I?

Sakura Trick by Studio DEEN.

Now, the plot to Sakura Trick is kinda tricky (FUCK OFF THAT WASN'T A PUN) to discuss because of each episode being it's own self-contained plot or rather, each HALF of an episode being it's own self-contained plot. You see, this show doesn't follow the general construct of an anime story and rather follows the Cowboy Bebop approach and doubles that. Each episode has 2 (with one episode having 3) 12 minute segments with their own plot. Anyways, onto the actual plot description.

OH BOY.

So our main character Haruka is about to begin her first year in High School alongside her childhood friend Yuu. Now that's fine and dandy and all but here's the catch; they will be the final class to ever complete a full course at their school, as it's set to be demolished after they graduate. So after their opening ceremony, Haruka and Yuu get bored and go to empty classroom (because this is Japan - you're ALLOWED to do that apparently) and decide to do something that will "remember his place once it's gone". And so, like any normal Japanese schoolgirls, they kiss. Now I wouldn't mind this and in fact the best thing about this show is that it embraces lesbianisim, however, I think they embrace it a bit too much. See having a relationship with the same sex -fine. However, doing stupid shit like falling on her intentionally every two seconds to kiss her in every.damn.episode. kinda spoils the exclusivity of the relationship. I wouldn't have a problem with this but there are two lesbian couples in this show, and even a lesbian love triangle! Other than the lesbian-ness of it all, it's just mainly the characters fucking about and doing shit like Shopping for that one scarf Yuu wanted or Complaining about Haruka's bra size being a C when it's actually a D...I will say that some episodes are at best decent and watchable because of their moments but then other times it draaaaggggsssss about something I don't care about.

Now onto the characters of Sakura Trick and oh boy do I have some words to say about how forgettable and boring these cast members were. Out of the entire cast, my favourite person was Yuu's older sister, who I can't even remember the name of. Now this may have something to do with my liking of anime girls who're tall and have glasses (See; Makise Kurisu who doesn't always wear glasses but sometimes does). Nobody else in this cast stuck out to me apart from Haruka because her hair colour is one of the only ones that isn't a shade of either light blonde or ashburn brown. Seriously, they're that bad. In fact, I'd say that the cast as a whole rivals that of the cast of School Days and Sword Art Online as being one of the worst casts in an anime EVER.

Now personally while I think that pretty much everything else in this show is complete garbage, the show has one standout quality that is actually the best in it's class. The animation in Sakura Trick stands as some of the best animation I have seen in any show to date. Seriously, this shit looks gorgeous and I cannot find a single fault in how beautiful the backgrounds are, how well characters move or how detailed some scenes can be. It's actually perfect in this regard.

Wait...this show had a SOUNDTRACK?

Literally forgettable. Even Sword Art Online managed to get this one down to a T. Apart from the opening (The hilariously badly named Won*Chu Kiss Me) I couldn't remember one thing from this OST. Moving on.

Overall, this is a mess, an actual beautiful mess. Despite it having possibly the best animation in any ever, Sakura Trick stumbles at being an anime to show that it's okay for girls to like girls. Bad plot, forgettable cast, great animation and horrific sound, Sakura Trick is one of the worst anime I have ever seen and it's message is poorly delivered. Now if you'll excuse me I have a hole to hide in to prepare from the hate off of the Yuri fans.

Story: 3

Characters: 1

Animation: 10

Sound: 1

Personal Enjoyment: 2

FINAL SCORE FOR SAKURA TRICK: 3.4/10

REVIEW - Kill la Kill (2013)

You know, once in a while there comes along an anime that can totally surprise you, especially when people you know bash the show to bits (this happened with Neon Genesis Evangelion too). However, I do love surprises, especially when it comes to anime. Now, while I don't think today's anime is the best thing ever (or even the best anime of Last Year: Shingeki no Kyojin takes the top spot there for me), I do think that it's one of the more refreshing anime I have seen in recent times.

Studio Trigger's Kill la Kill

Kill la Kill takes place in a sort of advanced but still modern Japan mainly in a school known as Honnouji Academy. The story centers around Ryuko Matoi and her quest to find out the murderer of her father, with the only evidence of the crime being half of a giant scissor left inside her fathers body. With this in mind, Ryuko heads off to Honnouji Academy, and finds out that it's a totalitarian school that's basically run by the Student Council President, Satsuki Kiryuin. Satsuki runs the school out of fear with her super powered uniforms, the Goku Uniforms (not sure if Dragon Ball reference or not) which give the students super powers based on their star-ratings: The more stars, the more powerful the Goku Uniform. Ryuko challenges Satsuki to a fight, but loses and is severely under-powered to be able to take on Satsuki. She heads back to the destroyed home of her deceased father, and vows to take revenge on Satsuki. Then, out of nowhere, Ryuko falls underground and discovers a black sailor uniform which she dubs "Senketsu". With Senketsu draining Ryuko's blood, Ryuko swears to get to the bottom of her fathers murder and find the culprit once and for all, whether it be Satsuki or otherwise. What I like about this story compared to every other revenge story in anime is the unpredictability of the plot twists and how batshit insane it gets sometimes. It's a fresh take on the magical girl anime and while unlike Madoka Magika which deconstructed the genre, Kill la Kill embraces it's genre and takes it on a wild acid trip which completely entertains from beginning to end. 

The characters are some the strongest and weakest points of Kill la Kill. On one end of the scale we have pretty damn good characters like Ryuko Matoi and Satsuki Kiryuin and on the other end we have horrible characters such as Mako Mankanshouku and Harime Nui. I like Ryuko for her resolve and strength which reminds me a lot of Eren Jaeger from Shingeki no Kyojin. She's strong and has a sight on her goal which she never lets go of now matter how convoluted her view becomes sometimes, although she's not my favourite character, by far. That honour goes to Satsuki Kiryuin, the Student Council President in Honnouji Academy. Her strength, her ability, her form are flawless. If I was one of those weebs who claimed to have an anime waifu, it would probably be Satsuki (with Rin from Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne coming second). She is second to none, with interesting character development to back her up, a strong voice provided by the amazingly talented Ryouka Yuzuki and some of my favourite quotes from a recent anime. Like I said though, this cast is not all good. Mako can be plainly annoying at times with her stupid antics and her nonsense (although she was the source of one pretty damn good GIF) and Haime Nui just pissed me off every time she was on screen and she's one of my most hated female anime characters alongside Asuna Yuuki and Kotonoha from School Days.  

Animation-wise, Kill la Kill is sometimes REALLY good, but other times it's pretty bad. The action scenes are more often than not draw droppingly beautiful and gorgeously choreographed, but other times mainly during the slice of life stuff, the animation takes a turn for the worst in quality and it looks really unpleasing to the eye. Character designs look pretty good and unique (Mako is kind of generic though) and the frame rate is solid for the most part while taking a drop every once in a while.

The soundtrack to Kill la Kill was composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, who also composed the 2013 mega hit Shingeki no Kyojin, which has to be my favourite soundtrack to anything ever. While I don't think it's as memorable, Kill la Kill's OST is pretty damn good and it's two openings, Sirius and ambiguous are two of my favourite anime openings, although the two ending themes are so damn forgettable it hurts.

Overall, Kill la Kill is a fun ride with some bumps in it's proverbial road. While I don't think it's the 'savior of anime' or anything like that, I personally think it's worth watching. While some of the characters are truly horrible and the animation becomes sub-par sometimes, it's one of the better anime that were release last year.

Story: 10

Characters: 6.5

Animation: 7

Music: 8.5

Personal Enjoyment: 8

FINAL SCORE FOR KILL LA KILL: 8/10

REVIEW - Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

(Note: I have seen the sequel movie, The End of Evangelion, however that movie will not affect the ratings of story, characters etc in this review. Also, I still have to watch the Rebuild movies, and I'll do that one day for sure.)

Nothing sparks controversy quite like anime. Whether it's because of the popularity of the show (Sword Art Online, Steins;Gate, Attack on Titan) or some themes/images/symbols contained in the show (Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne, Deadman Wonderland, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni+Umineko no Naku Koro ni) or some questionable design choices (Kill la Kill, Aku no Hana, Panty + Stocking, Elfen Lied) anime is one of the most controversial topics to discuss with anybody, but ladies and gentlemen, nothing comes as quite as controversial as today's anime, one often considered as a classic of the medium, and often considered a mess.

Studio GAINAX's Neon Genesis Evangelion

Evangelion takes place in the year 2015 A.D in a world almost completely destroyed by something called the Second Impact. 15 years prior to the events of the main plot, a meteor struck Earth and destroyed Antarctica, causing the Ice Caps to melt and flood half of the planet. Due to the violent nature of the weather at the time, Cities such as Tokyo were destroyed along with half of the human race. Fast forward to 2015 and we are introduced to Shinji Ikari, a young boy with a troubled past and some daddy issues which really need some sorting out. Shinji has been summoned by his father for the first time in three years to work at the organization his father commands known as NERV, a UN dummy corporations whose purpose isn't fully clear at the start of the plot. Suddenly out of nowhere, a giant Alien like being appear out of nowhere and starts destroying the city around Shinji, who luckily escapes with his NERV escort, Captain Misato Katsuragi. Misato brings Shinji to NERV headquarters where he is introduced to Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, a genius with computers and human engineering who is also in charge of mankind's ultimate weapon, which just so happens to be why Shinji was summoned by his father. The only thing that can destroy the alien creature, which is called an "Angel", is mankind's answer: The Evangelion Series - Giant Mech Robots capable of destroying the Angels once and for all. Against his will, Shinji is thrown into a battle he (or his comrades) doesn't fully understand, and the fate of Mankind lies in his - and the other Evangelion Pilots' - hands. While at the start, Evangelion does seem like a typical Mech anime with aliens destroying buildings and Robots fighting etc, but it is so much more than that. Evangelion is more about the characters trying to come to terms with themselves and the world around them rather than just 'Robot Smash Alien BOOM EXPLOSION'. It actually tries to be deep and symbolic, with a bunch of religious symbols and references thrown in. On the subject though, the ending has gotten a lot of hate because of it being too confusing for some people, which I can totally see, but here's how I see it: Hideaki Anno wanted every person to interpret the ending in their own way. Does Shinji accept himself? Does Gendo appreciate Shinji? This is ALL upto interpretation, which is why the ending of this series is still being discussed to this day, and that's the power this story has and that's why I love it so much.

The other big talking point when it comes to Neon Genesis Evangelion is the characters, specifically one Shinji Ikari, the lead protagonist. I'll talk more about him in a moment, however I want to briefly mention my personal favourite for a moment, Misato Katsuragi. Misato is the Director of Operations at NERV. What I love the most about Misato, in regard to at least the original series, is the fact that she's so good at showing her emotions. She's mostly a happy-go-lucky caretaker of both Shinji and Asuka Langley Soryuu for the majority of the series, but when shit hits the fan Misato often feels it the most. Whenever Shinji's in trouble, Misato does her best to save him, same with the other Eva pilots. She's a caring, loving character with a ice comedic side to balance out all the emotional baggage she has. However, the main talking point in regards to the characters in Evangelion comes in our main protagonist, Shinji. For many people, they see Shinji as nothing but a whiny bitch who always runs away from his problems because every situation he's in that ends badly, regardless of his input, is somehow all his fault, at least in his eyes. Personally, I do see the flaws in Shinji's character, and in fact the cast as a whole isn't really that great. Yeah, I like Misato, Shinji and Kensuke but minus those three the rest of the cast just don't really interest me that much. I Know I'll probably get a lot of hate for saying that (because EVERYBODY fucking loves Asuka) but that's my opinions. I like three characters and that's about it when it comes to the cast in this show.

Right, time to talk about another controversial aspect of this show: the animation. Studio GAINAX had a limited budget to produce this show on, and as such the animation isn't what I would call perfect but still very good, especially for something that's 19 years old. Backgrounds are nicely done, the animation is fluid for the most part (a feat for a hand-drawn anime) and the battle scenes between the Evangelions and the Angels are quite frankly brilliant to look at. In the final two episodes things start to go zany and the animation follows suit, so I guess the animation follows the mood of the show quite well when it needs to.

Soundtrack wise, Evangelion certainly surpasses Cowboy Bebop when it comes to 'favourite Anime OST from the 1990's'. From the immensely powerful battle themes and the liveliness of the track known only as 'Misato' to the catchy as hell and downright amazing opening, Zankouku na Tenshi no Teeze (A Cruel Angel's Thesis), Neon Genesis Evangelion has one of the best soundtracks to any anime ever made, and that's saying something.

Overall, I do think that at the very least, you should watch Neon Genesis Evangelion to see what the hype is surrounding this series. It's regarded as a classic anime and one of the greatest of all time because of how well it deconstructs the Mecha Genre and flips it on it's head. While I enjoy the story and soundtrack and the animation (somewhat), the weak cast bring this show down only slightly. I enjoyed Evangelion a lot but I can easily understand why some people (cough JAKE MOORE cough KIERAN JONES cough) don't.

Story: 10

Characters: 7.5

Animation: 9.5

Sound: 10

Personal Enjoyment: 10

FINAL SCORE FOR NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: 9.4/10