Review | Movie | AIR: The Movie

AIR: THE MOVIE : This reinterpretation of the AIR series sheds a new light on the small town of Kami, as traveler Yukito arrives at the seaside town looking for a way to make money. There he meets Misuzu, a young school girl, who upon finding out that Yukito has nowhere to stay, allows him to stay with her. As Yukito and Misuzu become friends, a legend begins to unfold that tells of a winged being falling in love with her human guardian while in captivity, against the laws of her people. Consequently, she is punished with a mysterious illness, which will inflict all of her reincarnations until the curse can be broken. When Misuzu becomes deathly ill with a sickness that cannot be diagnosed, Yukito fears that Misuzu may be the reincarnation of the winged being from the legend.

AIR: The Movie is not a continuation of the anime, but the same story told through a different viewpoint. The animation for AIR is different than that of the movie, and Yukito's seemingly cold personality from the anime is less obvious in the movie.

AIR, though a beautiful anime, is a tear-jerker. You can feel your heart go out to Misuzu, who despite her weaknesses maintains a sunny disposition. We do not get the comic relief from Potato that we do in the series, as Potato only appears once as a character Misuzu is watching on TV.

The theme of the movie is a lot softer; Yukito is not hesitant about a relationship with Misuzu and treats her with more kindness. The two are seen doing more friendly things together, as opposed to the anime where Yukito grumbles throughout whenever Misuzu takes him anywhere. Misuzu, however, does not spend as much of the quality time with her mother figure aunt Haruko as she did in the anime.

This interpretation of the AIR story is every bit as beautiful as the anime it parallels, and every fan of the AIR series will definitely want to catch it.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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Review | Movie | Princess Mononoke

PRINCESS MONONOKE : When a demon attacks a small village, Prince
Ashitaka battles the creature and is cursed by its poison. The Elder of the
village reveals that the curse is deadly and will cause him great pain before
killing him. In an attempt to save himself, Ashitaka journeys to the town that
may have been responsible for the demon that cursed him, and discovers the town
has been under attack by a tribe of wolves lead by a wolf-raised human girl, determined to drive the humans from the forests they're destroying.

One of Hayao Miyazaki's best works, "Mononoke-hime" is a favorite among anime fans for its attention to detail and complex plot. Director Miyazaki is known for conveying his views metaphorically into his films, and Princess Mononoke views the era of construction from the eyes of the creatures that lose their homes through deforestation. Out of anger towards humans for their cruel actions, the leaders of the animal tribes wage war against the powerful Lady Eboshi, the woman responsible for mutilating the vast forests surrounding her town. Leading the wolf tribe is San, who was raised by the tribe's wise leader Moro, a large wolf that chose not to devour San upon discovering her. San grew up despising humans as her animal brothers did, and her only purpose is to kill Eboshi at all costs and take back the forest. Ashitaka, caught in the middle of the battle, simply wants the humans and forest animals to live in peace with each other, which is an outrageous idea on both parts.

Princess Mononoke, aside from being beautifully animated with a score to match, is very moving and inspiring to those who take a good look at the movie in depth. Though the film is very long (about 2 hours), any fan of Miyazaki's previous works such as Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service will feel nothing but honored and excited to use the time watching this mystifying film.

The film does, however, hold a R rating. The film is violent nearly throughout, there are many war scenes and many animals are killed. Humans limbs are removed through the film and the dead, burnt bodies of animals and humans can be seen. Though nothing is too graphic, there is a great deal of blood to go around. Unless you are fearful of the sight of blood, the violence should not be a reason to stray from the film.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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The Legend of Ashitaka

Review | Movie | L: Change The World

L: CHANGE THE WORLD : This spin-off, based on the movies of the popular manga series Death Note, tells the story of the famous detective L after wrapping up the Kira Investigation. Faced with the death of his assistant and good friend Watari, L solves countless more cases on his own, and soon faces a brand new case that could be his most difficult yet: stopping a corrupted group of scientists from
wiping out mankind with a lethal virus.

The legendary detective is back with a movie to call his own in the latest spin-off of the popular Death Note manga and anime series. I was excited to hear that L would get to take a final bow after the Kira Case came to a close, and I finally got to see it this month.

This time, L's intellect is put to the test when a team of environmentalists decide that mankind deserves to die after destroying the planet and waging pointless wars. Their weapon of choice is a deadly virus created by crossing strands of Influenza and Ebola. The virus was concluded extremely deadly when the virus was tested as a war weapon on a small village, leaving no survivors but a mysterious young boy, who is sent to L for protection after he is named a witness to the horrific events.

L's next house guest is a junior high school student named Maki, who delivers the bottled virus to L by orders of her father, who asked that the vial be delivered to Watari for protection. The pursuit is on after the scientists show up at L's headquarters searching for the virus.

The only content to be worried about in this movie is the violence; the scientists' plan for "cleansing the earth" is important enough to them that they'll kill anyone who gets in their way. The virus infects immediately through skin contact, and it is suggested the virus is airborne as well. The symptoms are, of course, everything that comes with Influenza and Ebola, and you know you've been infected when bleeding boils begin to pop up on your skin. We see this happening to the village named the virus' testing grounds; if you're not dead, you're nearly dead. It ends up a literal eyesore.

L's next task? Making sure the scientists don't come up with an antidote, stating, "If you have control of a virus and its antidote, you're invincible."

Ken'ichi Matsuyama returns to his hit role as the charming Japanese crime-fighter in director Hideo Nakata's new production. The film originally intended to take place before the Kira Case began, to convey the events when L and FBI agent Naomi Misora worked together. Hideo Nakata, director of the Japanese horror hit Ringu (which later inspired 'The Ring'), wanted to explore "L's human side" in the film, so the plot was rewritten, and L was given a chance to interact with the child co-stars of the film.

I was very impressed with this movie, seeing as usually spin-offs don't really interest me very often. Any fan of Death Note will want to check this one out, and any fans of L will want to twice as much.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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I'll Be Waiting (Movie theme)

Preview | Anime | Monochrome Factor

MONOCHROME FACTOR

Akira Nikaido is a laid-back high school student, always skipping
class and living an overall normal life. One day walking home from school he
encounters a mysterious man named Shirogane, who insists that their fates and
entwined. Akira ignores these claims and returns home. When a classmate asks
Akira and his friend Kengo to come with her to school that night to retrieve an
item she left, they are attacked by a strange monster. Shirogane appears and
intervenes, telling Akira that he must become a "shin" in order to battle the
creatures that have escaped from the Shadow World.

This is ones of the animes I watched while visiting an anime cosplay convention in May, and along with Vampire Knight, I discovered Monochrome Factor. Though the manga has been out for sometime, they began releasing anime episodes in Japan in April. So far only 6 episodes are available, out of the 13 they expect to air. I'm interested in where this show is going, even though it occasionally hints yaoi which I'm not a big fan of. Fans of the manga are used to the "old" Shirogane, who apparently isn't as touchy-feely as the new Shirogane we become used to in the anime. I have great expectations for this anime, and I'll be glad to review once the series blossoms.

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Preview | Anime | Vampire Knight

VAMPIRE KNIGHT

The prestigious Cross Academy offers a special Night Class to certain students
of the academy. The Night Class is unique because it is inhabited entirely by
vampires. To keep peace and reasonable distance between the vampires and
humans, prefects Yuuki and her best friend Zero are hired, and work to
ensure that Day Class students never discover the Night Class students are
vampires, and most importantly, that the vampires don't lose control of their
urges to feed on human blood.

I went to an anime cosplay convention a few weeks ago and the Con showed the first 3 episodes of Vampire Knight. I thought it was very interesting so far, so once I returned home I decided to look into and discovered the anime is fairly new, and only recently began producing episodes based on the already released manga. As of now, there isn't even a 10th episode, the 9th episode was released a few days ago. 26 episodes were produced in total and are still airing in Japan. I'm very pleased with where this anime is going. I can't wait to see more, then I'll be sure to return here and give you a great review.

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Review | Anime | Tsubasa Chronicle

TSUBASA CHRONICLE : Syaoran, a young archaologist, and
Princess Sakura have been friends since their childhood, sharing many memories
of their adventures together. One day, Princess Sakura is hypnotically drawn to
the ruins Syaoran is excavating, and she is given a set of strange glowing
wings. When a force begins to draw Sakura into the ruins, Syaoran quickly
rescues her, and her wings disappear. The city's priest examines unconscious
Sakura and reveals that the wings that appeared on Sakura were fragments of her
soul, and without them she will die. Syaoran is sent with Sakura to the
Dimension Witch for instructions on how to restore Sakura. Also wanting to see
the Witch, a fierce warrior named Kurogane and a placid magician named Fai D. Flourite. The Dimension Witch instructs them to join forces, and in order to grant what each of them wants, The Witch must take something precious from each of them. In order to save Sakura, Syaoran is forced to give up his memories with Sakura. Syaoran now must travel between dimensions with his new teammates and their jumpy teleport creature Mokona Modoki to recover Sakura's feathers, even if it means losing their friendship forever.

There are few things CLAMP can't do. One of Japan's leading shojo industries brings CardCaptor favorites Syaoran and Sakura together again to create Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. Combined with Yuki Kajiura's music, which is every bit as enchanting as the mystifying worlds the group visit, Tsubasa provides a tale worth staying tuned for.

CLAMP, who is famous for revamping characters from their other shows, includes characters from xxxHolic as well as the shojo hit CardCaptor Sakura. Another well-known but rarely seen character is the popular Chii, who would later go on to lead her own series in Chobits. I look forward to seeing the gang in other upcoming projects by CLAMP.

There isn't a massive flood of new characters as many animes are known for; there are no new additions to the travelers and the new characters we're introduced to support the show long enough for Syaoran to locate Sakura's feathers and teleport with his friends to the next world. His loveable fellow travelers add their own comic relief when they need to. One especially memorable character is grumpy tough guy Kurogane, whose new friends prove to be more of a thorn in his side than a help; especially when he is given cutesy nicknames by blubbery rabbit-like Mokona Modoki and the merry-weathered and almost complacent Fai D. Flourite.

After the first season ends, we move into the three-episode Tsubasa: Tokyo Revelations, which is a huge crossover from the bubbly Reservoir Chronicle, and provides a forceful sock to the stomachs of people who are used to the colors of the show. The setting is the bleak future of Tokyo, scraping by on scarce water and the meat of mutated insects while living in a fortress protected by Sakura's feather as a defense from the acid rain that eroded the rest of the once vast Japanese city. The characters' eventual desperation sends them to the Dimension Witch for assistance, who isn't exactly a shoulder to cry on with her demanding payment in return for favors. The chaotic atmosphere and the grim conditions of the favorable travelers are proven enough to send even happy-go-lucky Mokona Modoki into a heavy-hearted tailspin. Though the animated series ends there for now, I'll definitely be consulting the mangas for the rest of their tales.

At times the show seems slow and dragging, but you definitely have to be paying attention; during crucial scenes there is a lot of information thrown out that a lot of the time is useful in later episodes. Despite Kurogane's cursing that evolves from Fai's "Kurorins" and "Kuropipis", this isn't objectionable for a child to watch, except for the fact that it can easily get complicated beyond a small child's comprehension. Any manga fan will be appreciative of CLAMP's gorgeous art style and careful attention to detail. Definitely worth a rental.

Overall Rating:
/ 5

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1st Season Opening Theme : Blaze
A Song Of Storm And Fire
Ship Of Fools
Break The Sword Of Justice

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