A-kun and TharzZzy's Anime Review 2
The Tough, The Unusual and the Babes
BTW, if you're wondering where we stand on Dubbed versus Subtitled, it doesn't matter much to us. The first one you hear is the one you'll like the most anyway, because you feel it fits better. The main thing we think about is cost versus having to watch the subtitles. Some people can follow the subtitles fast enough while others can't.
Besides, it doesn't matter much. No matter which you buy, the opening and ending songs will be in Japanese anyway, save for the Fatal Fury saga, Tekken and a few others.
Anime Ratings: These are our opinions on these Anime. You may object to the ratings given. 0 means don't even bother with it. ***** means you've gotta see it at least once.
Mixing Codes: If there are two things that conflict, such as Romance and Combat, this means there's a little of both. The proportions may not be fair. When there's something like Combat and Blood, that means the fighting may vary. Some fights may not get as brutal as others.
Main Codes: What's listed under Main is the main theme of the series or at least what we felt was the main theme. The others are varying.
Rating Codes:
[Silly] - There's at least something that'll make us smile. Silly moments what everyone can enjoy. If this is the Main Code, that means that if you don't get or don't like most of the jokes, don't bother seeing the rest of the series. It's probably not your thing.
[WAFF] - You get a Warm And Fuzzy Feeling when you see this movie. WAFF means the stuff that may follow some angsty scenes and it should get you the feeling that everything turns out for the better.
[Angst] - There's some depressing/serious scenes. If this is the Main Code, then there's a lot of angst in the story. Don't expect too many happy moments.
[Combat] - There's conflict in the story. Whether it's purely physical like hand-to-hand fighting or just competing in sports, there's a conflict. If this is the Main Code, then the world is probably surrounding fighting.
[Blood] - Expect some REALLY violent fighting. Weapons will most likely be used to draw blood. Sometimes, it won't be much, but it will be there. If this is the Main Code, it's probably pretty violent all throughout the story.
[Violence] - Ultra-violent stuff here. Those with weak stomaches should NOT watch this. If Main Code, expect some rather excessively violent scenes.
[Romance] - Ah, love. Not for those of iron stomaches. They'll rust. If this is the Main Code, don't expect much of anything else.
[Underwear] - There are a lot of shots of underwear/tight swimwear or people in states of partial dress. They might have torn clothes or it might be that a girl's skirt gets blown up. In some cases, you'll get Crotch Camera, which, depending on your preferences and the gender of the person with Crotch Cam, may make you either get a nosebleed or retch. If this is the Main Code, then get used to the butt-shots and Crotch Cams.
[Nudity] - *blush* Yes, there's probably some topless girls running around or at least you'll see the nude back of a girl.
[Sexual] - *AHEM*, there's some more-than-obvious sexual interactions or more than subtle hints to that angle. It may be cut short before they get going or they might decide to fade out just as it's begun, but there is definitely sexual scenes suggested. If this is the Main Code, then people under the legal age should probably not view this unless it's for a sexual education course. In other words, you can see some positions often found in the Kama Sutra.
[Twisted] - If Twisted is ANYWHERE in the code, then expect sick or perverted things. Example: Tentacle beasts, horny space monsters, ogling of women, strange fluids, etc.
[Bizarre] - Expect the strangest things. Cats turning into coats then back to cats, creatures too bizarre for words, and just unusual/unnatural things. Monsters, demons, and genetical-made freaks are included.
[Sci Fi] - This is either super high-tech stuff or unusual vehicles that would not normally appear on Earth. Aliens also fall into this category. Unless in the Main Code, the world doesn't revolve around this super-tech.
[Magic] - These are usually magical worlds. They may not be heavy in magic, but there's usually at least a spell or a chant. If the Main Code, well, you get the picture. This category also works for anything that involves psionics, spiritual energy or any other form of super-natural attack.
[Religion] - It's usually a presentation of another Religion, most likely one familiar to Japan such as Buddhist, Taoist, Shinto, Christianity, etc. If it's the Main Code, there's stuff within that may be stuff that may be offensive to those who are heavily religious as this will probably present a new form of religion that may contradict yours. Close-minded people beware.
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Dragon Ball (Dubbed)
Main Code: [Combat][Bizarre][Silly]
Secondary Code: [Sci Fi][WAFF][Magic][Religion]
A-kun's Review: This story is about a young boy, Son Goku, who begins the series living in the mountains by himself. He was raised by his grandfather, Son Gohan. (Son is the family name. Quite often, the last name is spoken first in the subtitled world.) One day, a traveler by the name of Bulma stops by looking for something called a Dragon Ball.
It seems that Goku's grandfather had one that had four stars. As such, Goku is hardly willing to just part with it. So, Bulma tell him the reason she's looking for it. Apparently, by gathering all seven, a dragon appears and grants you ANY wish. What she doesn't know is that whoever speaks a wish in the dragon's presence first will have that wish granted. In any case, she convinces him that she'll help him if he helps her. Since he could wish for anything, including to see his grandfather again, Goku agrees and follows Bulma on her quest. The story is mostly set on Goku, but the Dragon Balls are an integral part of the story.
It's sort of funny, but there are serious moments in the story. Goku and Bulma's quest for the Dragon Balls involves lots of danger as the Dragon Balls scatter once the wish is made, then turn into ordinary looking stones for an entire year before someone can look for them again. And the Dragon Balls don't always wind up in very safe places.
Anime Review: ***
TharzZzDunN's Review: N/A.
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Dragon Ball Z (Dubbed)
Main Code: [Combat][Blood][Violence]
Secondary Code: [Sci Fi][Bizarre][Silly][Angst][Magic][Religion]
A-kun's Review: This story starts when Goku's son, Gohan, is only five years old. Goku has grown up quite a bit, but something shows that he's still really young. On this same day, Goku's long lost brother, Raditz, shows up and reveals to Goku that he's from outer space and that he's actually a Saiyan. However, Goku doesn't like the vicious nature of his brother, who beats him up and takes Gohan in an effort to get Goku to come back with him to their home planet. Goku and Goku's green-skinned rival, Piccolo, have to team up to battle Goku's brother. Well, it just gets crazy from there as two more Saiyans, twenty times stronger that Raditz, head to Earth.
The voice actors were pretty good up until near the end when for some reason they changed quite a few voice actors for some really bad ones. But, it doesn't matter, the important characters remain mostly the same and the story is very strong. I strongly recommend that if you like playing Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat or Killer Instinct, you'll probably like this series.
Anime Review: ****
TharzZzDunN's Review: Bleah! Ever imagine what it would be like if you were back in the third grade and you could swat down those bullies who picked on the other nerds? Well take that idea, give yourself sociopathic homicidal tendencies and the firepower of the Death Star, now imagine popping the heads off of those bullies while cackling wildly. This would be an average episode of Dragonball Z, sure I'm exaggerating wildly, but don't think I hate the show, it's pretty good but filled over and over and over with pointless violence. Now to see some pointed violence, I would recommend the original subtitled Golgo-13: The Professional.
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Devil Hunter Yohko 2&3 (Subtitled)
Main Code: [Silly][Bizarre][Combat][Magic]
Secondary Code: [WAFF][Underwear][Nudity]
A-kun's Review: Yohko is back in these two videos, but now she has an assistant named Azusa and her friend Chi to back her up a bit. Chi has become Yohko's publicist/manager, but don't expect lasting relationship with this girl. The guys from the last video are long gone.
We go deeper into the world of Devil Hunter Yohko and find a few funny songs, some tougher baddies and a lot less possession. As for the voices, the subtitled version is good, but after that bad dubb experience, I'm less than willing to see how the dubbed Yohko 2&3 turned out. If you liked the last video, you might be a little disheartened to know that this video combined both and isn't very long. It's still Yohko, it's just shorter.
Anime Review: ***
TharzZzDunN's Review: N/A.
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Devil Hunter Yohko 4 (Subtitled)
Main Code: [Silly][Bizarre][Magic]
Secondary Code: [WAFF][Underwear][Brief Nudity]
A-kun's Review: Sadly, most fans might be disappointed to know that this is only a video containing music from the first three Devil Hunter Yohkos as well as a few new videos and songs. I recommend it anyway, but it's not an official Devil Hunter Yohko story.
Anime Review: ****
TharzZzDunN's Review: Hilarious, cute, worth a peek or even adding to your collection for the sheer bubbliness it adds to a story about devils getting hacked to pieces.
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Variable Geo (Dubbed)
Main Code: [Silly][Combat][Sci Fi]
Secondary Code: [WAFF][Underwear][Nudity][Sexual]
A-kun's Review: If you're a fan of fighting games like Street Fighter/Tekken and you don't mind some blatant nudity, you'll find this to be quite the intriguing story. Basically, there's numerous tournaments going on around the planet, like in Street Fighter, and there are obvious sponsors to these fights. The thing that makes this unusual is that the contestants are _ALL_ female and are usually waitresses to boot. However, if you ever thought Ryu's Shinku Hadoken was impressive, wait until you see some of the moves these girls can pull off. I have to warn you that from what I've seen of the subtitled version, the dubbed is a little less blatant about certain things. (P.S. Manami may not look old because of her child-like appearance and the fact that she wears big cutesy tiger paws, but she's actually fifteen. She could win any guess your age contest, though.) But, I'd recommend this if you're a fan of anime or a fan of fighting.
Anime Review: ****
TharzZzDunN's Review: At first I thought I had finally gotten my hands on the director's cut of 'Showgirls', until I noticed that it was still an anime. Boi-yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi-yoing!! I haven't seen so much jiggle with a giggle since I picked up Golden Boy tape 1. Fan-freakin-tastic-oogaly!
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Tenchi Muyo: The OAV series (Dubbed)(Subtitled)
Main Code: [Silly][Bizarre][Sci Fi]
Secondary Code: [WAFF][Nudity][Magic][Combat][Blood]
A-kun's Review: Tenchi was an ordinary sixteen year old spending the summer at his grandfather's temple. After swiping some keys from his grandfather, he opens an old sealed cave and finds an ancient weapon and an ancient demon. He gets away from the demon, still holding the weapon. Later, when he returns to school, he remembers the demon and goes to sleep on the roof. When he wakes up, he finds the demon waiting for him, but it's not as hideous as it used to be. It turns out that the 'demon' is actually Ryoko, an infamous space pirate that's been trapped in stasis for seven hundred years. A pair of young princesses show up and nab them. After a long story, Tenchi, Tenchi's father, Ryoko and the princesses wind up living near Tenchi's grandfather's shrine. Also, I feel that Pioneer matched the voices very well. In the end, though, it's all up to you.
Anime Review: ***
TharzZzDunN's Review: Light-hearted, fun, fast, good foundation on the character's history and reason for them acting like loons.
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Magical Project S (Subtitled)
Main Code: [Combat][Magic][Silly]
Secondary Code: [Underwear][Bizarre][WAFF][Angst]
A-kun's Review: This is an alternate Tenchi Muyo universe. Tenchi, Ryoko and Aeka don't show up as they previously were and the focus is actually on Tsunami, Sasami, Ryo-Ohki and a new character, Misao. Sasami and Ryo-Ohki live with a brand new family and there are some serious moments, but the rest of the series is actually pretty funny and you should definitely watch this if you're into Tenchi Muyo or magical girls.
Anime Review: ****
TharzZzDunN's Review: Yipe!!! I just pray to the kami that Naoko Takeuchi doesn't try to revise Sailor Moon along the lines of these magical girls.
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Pretty Sammy 2 & 3 (Subtitled)
Main Code: [Combat][Magic][Silly]
Secondary Code: [Underwear][Bizarre][WAFF][Angst]
A-kun's Review: This is an alternate Tenchi Muyo universe. Tenchi, Ryoko and Aeka don't show up as main characters and the focus is actually on Tsunami, Sasami and Ryo-Ohki. Sasami has a new mom, but lives with Tenchi as her brother. Misao pops up, but even less is known about her family and Misao seems to have a very weak constitution whereas in Magical Project S, she's just shy. Mihoshi and Kiyone are next door neighbors. Both are more serious than Magical Project S and if you want the beginning of this series, you have to watch the Tenchi Muyo TV series, although you get hints from the Tenchi OAV Mihoshi Special. But, they're both still kinda fun to watch.
Anime Review: ***
TharzZzDunN's Review: A little duller than it's descendant Magical Project S, the writer seemed to drag out an already bare storyline with pointless scenes of rural Japan, which as we all know consists of slime covered, bleeding walls, floating crosses, beheaded bishounen, and a lot of transforming giant robots. Who cares?!
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Night Warriors Volumes 1-4 (Dubbed)
Main Code: [Combat][Blood][Magic][Bizarre]
Secondary Code: [Bizarre][Angst][Religion][Sci Fi]
A-kun's Review: If you've played the game, you might have an idea as to how violent this story is going to get. Most of the story revolves around four groups and although a few people do make a few cameo appearances, you won't see some of the fighters at all except for a few seconds in the intro and when Pyron starts bashing everyone around. The main four groups are these: Donovan and Anita, Lei Lei and Hsien Ko, Wuitzil, Dmitri and Morrigan. All of these fighters are critical to the story, but don't worry, all you Felicia fans, she gets a few threads too. Talbain and Lord Raptor fans will be a little more disappointed as their guys only get to be in maybe one video each. For fans of violence and dark worlds.
Anime Review: ***
TharzZzDunN's Review: Neat, filled out the basic storyline with at least a little variation on the rough backstory from the game. Hsien-ko is the kewlest!
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El Hazard: The OAV series 1-4 (Dubbed)
Main Code: [Bizarre][Sci Fi][Magic][Romance]
Secondary Code: [Angst][Silly][Religion][Nudity]
A-kun's Review: -we came in? Welcome to the world of El Hazard. You'll find a very odd world awaits you. Two young men, a somewhat alcoholic teacher and a young girl get sucked into this world due to a woman who seems to know one of the young men. You'll find yourself wondering how it ends up like this. Well, you'll just have to wait until the end of the series. I will say this: You'll hardly expect it to turn out the way it does. If you don't mind some silly situations and a touching romance, this is a pretty good story. Say, isn't this where-
Anime Review: ****
(The phrases of "-we came in?" and "Say, isn't this where-" are part of a clue. See if you can figure out what it means. ^_^)
TharzZzDunN's Review: Classical magical story; boy meets girl, boy discusses how his mother dresses him like a slut, girl yodels from mountaintop, boy loses girl to rival, boy uses psychic powers to disable code string that enforces obedience in girls head, boy loses girl to an out of control dimensional wormhole mega cannon the size of a moon. "That's no moon, that's a space station." - name that quote and win a text file!
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Hyper Dolls 1 and 2 (Dubbed)
Main Code: [Sci Fi][Bizarre][Silly][Combat]
Secondary Code: [Nudity][Underwear][Blood]
A-kun's Review: This is a goofy world. It makes more sense if you've read the manga, which has the story leading up to where the Anime takes place, but you can get a general grasp of what's going on. For some reason, a group calling themselves Kaos or something like that, has been developing biogenetically altered monsters. And, these two girls, Mica and Mew, are to stop them. Of course, when they can generate 10,286,238 lbs. of kinetic force per square inch just in a fist, one could say they're pretty tough. In fact, they're literally well nigh-invulnerable. They can form swords out of their palms, create energy fireballs of building destroying class and they can also grab seven hundred foot tall monsters and swing them like baseball bats. Their final attack, the Zero Cannon is actually a neutron discharge, which pretty much annihilates anything. Naturally, being superheroines, they must maintain secret identities, but one wouldn't be able to tell they're really acting normal (for them), except for Akai, the one person who figured out their identities, but isn't allowed to reveal the Dolls' secret under the threat of having his head popped like a super-cheap water balloon that's been filled to capacity.
Short, but this is a pretty funny series. Plus, you get some scenes from the super-cheesy live-action series, which was called (I _think_) Pinky Power Punch.
Anime Review: ****
TharzZzDunN's Review: Not sure where this fits in, mostly it feels like a spoof of magical girls who have to lose, retreat, make a stirring speech to their goldfish, then kick some booty. This time though, the girls in question could pretty much lay the smack down on anything, anytime they damn well please. Actually, most of the action revolves around the overkill methods these two bubble brains use to resolve conflict, with planet-busting attacks being tossed around with careless (and sloppy, not to mention homicidal) ease!
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Key: the Metal Idol 1-7 (Dubbed)(Subtitled)
Main Code: [Sci Fi][Angst]
Secondary Code: [Nudity][Combat][Magic][Silly][Combat][Blood]
A-kun's Review: This is a mostly dark anime about a young girl/robot... person named Key. The constant debate throughout the series is: Is she human or is she a robot? No one is certain and I've seen up to tape 7 (of 8 total). A corporate executive believes her to be a robot with the secret to making a superior human/robot interface where a single man could control between ten to a hundred war machines. Key's best friend, Sakura, doesn't care, only that Key is happy. And a spiritual group believes she may be a human with tremendous powers. All Key knows is that her creator/grandfather told her that if she makes 30,000 friends, she can become human.
This is a disturbing, yet very intriguing series about how far some people will go to satisfy their obsessions. I alternated between subtitled and dubbed videos and I found that I liked the subtitled a little more, but the dubbed is okay. Regardless, this is something you should look at.
Anime Review: *****
TharzZzDunN's Review: Stay away if you are prone to chronic headaches, depression, fatigue, or just need to go to work the next day. This cursed series will very likely have you up all night arguing volubly over the nature of mankind, the universe, and why seagulls are always found near McDonald's.
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Slayers TV series (Dubbed)
Main Code: [Magic][Silly][Combat][Bizzare]
Secondary Code: [Blood][Nudity][Underwear][Angst][Religion][WAFF][Violence]
A-kun's Review: This is one of the few series that can encompass almost all of the categories save for two.
Lina Inverse, sorceress supreme, was in a bit of trouble. Trouble begins when she attacked a bandit gang singlehandedly and roasted a majority of said gang. She swiped their treasure and walked off into the night. But the survivors decide to ambush her in hopes of snagging back the treasure. While she didn't need to be rescued from these pathetic bandits, she meets Gourry Gabriev, an excellent swordsman if a tad shy on brains, who, thinking he's saving a major babe, defeats all the bandits. Heck, he even gets a cool entrance line when the bandits demand his name, "If I told you my name, you'd get it dirty."
Well, as it goes, somehow a super rare item fell into Lina's possession and now someone's out to get it from her, whether it's through polite means of purchasing it for ninety MILLION gold pieces or over her dead corpse. And it seems that a fragment of something really powerful could be unleashed to destroy the entire world. And mind you, it's only a FRAGMENT as in part of an even greater whole.
Funny, serious, crazy, weird and other things can go on with Lina Inverse around. Go Lina-chan! Wai! Uh, ahem... anyway, I think if you like goofy fantasy realms, this is DEFINITELY a must-see.
Anime Review: *****
TharzZzDunN's Review: It seems like forever since Dragon Pink came out, and until Slayers came out on the U.S. market there just weren't enough parodies of those climactic sword and sorcery stories that I grew up with, making Slayers a godsend. The laughs might get a little strained at times, but there's always a good vibe running through every episode of this wonderfully comedic romp.
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Reviews coming soon: Battle CanCan, Balthus, Advancer Tina, Alien from the Darkness, New Angel 1, Magical Twilight, Magical Twilight 2, Magical Twilight 3, Venus 5 tapes 1 and 2, Private Police Tokio tape 1, Urutsukidoji (complete) and some more bad porn-anime. (*blush* It's just for research!)
Other Reviews coming soon: Otaku no Video, Moldiver 1, Golden Boy 1-6, Fatal Fury 1-2, Fatal Fury: The Movie, Tekken, Street Fighter: the Movie, Street Fighter TV series volume 1, Blue Seed (complete), Revolutionary Girl Utena tapes 1-4, Slayers Next (complete), Slayers OAVs, Irresponsible Captain Tylor (complete), All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku tapes 1-4, Cutey Honey tapes 1-4, Gunsmith Cats tapes 1-3, Gowcaizer, Ushio and Tora tapes 1-5, Burn Up, Burn Up W tapes 1-4, Devil Hunter Yohko 5 and 6, My My Mai tapes 1 and 2, Gude Crest, Ellica tape 1, Legend of Crystania: the Movie, El Hazard OAV 1-4, El Hazard2 tapes 1 and 2, El Hazard: An Alternate World tapes 1-3, El Hazard TV series 1 (complete), Ayane's High Kick, Maison Ikkoku, Battle Skipper tapes 1-4, Zenki 1-6, Project A-ko 1-4, Capricorn, Kotetsu, Tenchi Muyo: The Movie, Tenchi Muyo: The Movie 2, Dirty Pair Flash, Dirty Pair Original 3, Dirty Pair: Affair on Nolandia, Dirty Pair: Conspiracy on Flight 007, Dirty Pair: Project Eden, Oh! My Goddess, Ninja Scroll, Ninja Resurrection, Galaxy Fraulein Yuna tapes 1 and 2, Return of Yuna, BASTARD!! tapes 1-4, Bakuretsu Hunters tapes 1-6, Those Who Hunt Elves 1-4, Saber Marrionettes J tapes 1-3, Clamp School Detectives tapes 1-6, Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie, Battle Athletes 1, Iczelion, Knights of Ramune (Lamune 40) tapes 1-2, Dragon Half, Princess Minerva, Aika tapes 1 and 2, Video City Ai, Panzer Dragoon, Ruin Explorers 1 and 2, Golgo 13, Shinesmen.
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