Hi everybody!
Well, the marathon of reviews is winding down. As I’m posting this up, there are 14 anime OVA I’ve got left to watch & post up. Since I’ve got some things planned in the coming months, I’ll be stepping up with the remaining reviews, and I’ll be putting up 3 a week. Before I do that, let’s take a look at a scandalous action-packed fantasy title, known simply as Legend of Lemnear.
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“In this animated fantasy packed with adventure, Lemnear, the lone surviving warrior of a village destroyed by the evil Dark Lord, is out to avenge the deaths of her people. But while tracking down the ruler and his wizard Gardein, she discovers that there is more important business to attend to than vengeance. It is revealed that inside of her rests an indestructible power that can save this ancient world from the evil that has come to control it. Her job isn't going to be an easy one, however, because the Dark Lord finds out about the power and wants it for himself.”
I should say for those who don’t know, this was based off of the manga with the same name. I’ve never read it, but from what I heard, it seemed to be good. So a story like the one in the Manga would make for a great series.......not so much for a single OVA. It feels like a bunch of the original story was cut out, or at the very least was condensed to such a simplistic state that it’s somehow confusing. This also applies to the characters, but we’ll get to that when the time comes.
Setting
The fantasy world of Legend of Lemnear has seen better days. It’s dark, dreary, and very oppressive. The sky is as bleak as a starless sky, and the land is as drained as an ancient mummy. Yet, there’s glimmers of hope from time to time. There are certain individuals throughout the land that seem to carry a light within them, almost like there’s a piece of a hero within them. It’s an interesting concept, but it ultimately fails as we’ll soon see.
Characters
This is the biggest weakness of Legend of Lemnear. The characters are just straight up boring & weak. They can be compared to cardboard or paint drying on a wall with how thin they are. There’s no real strength to them, despite what I said in the section above. The only character that has any substance is Lemnear. She seems to be the only one that moves the story along, and also seems to be the only character that has something to her. If they put in at least a sliver of oomph to the characters, then I wouldn’t quite pitch as much of a fit as I’m doing right now (Despite a lack of exclamation points).
Animation
Legend of Lemnear was drawn & animated by the legendary Satoshi Urushihara, whom you might remember from my Plastic Little review (Click “***” to look at) and from my number 7 & 6 spots in my Top 10 Books list (Click “***” to look at). This movie looks just as good as Plastic Little: the visuals look great, the girls look mature & sexy, and the men are rugged, handsome, or hideous/ugly. When there’s a battle, things move fluidly & look great, and the special effects put in match the fantasy aesthetics of the movie.
Voice Acting
The voice acting in this is a relatively solid “Meh”, with occasional dips into the horrid side of things. For the most part, a majority of the characters just seem to sound like the minimum of effort was put into their voices. There’s a couple characters where they sound like the voice actors put in less than the minimum effort, but this mostly applies to side characters, and a minor bad guy or two. Tragically, the lead female Lemnear sounds like there was effort put into her voice, but there wasn’t enough effort used.
Episodes & Episode Length
Coming in at 42 minutes, Legend of Lemnear is a one-shot OVA, perfectly suited for watching late at night!
Availability & Pricing
Legend of Lemnear is another one of those “Difficult but not impossible” titles I’ve come across. Again, I was able to find the VHS & DVD releases over on Amazon. With the VHS copies, there isn’t that many, but the pricing across the new/used spectrum is relatively reasonable. New copies start at 2 dollars, while the used copies start at 55 cents. With the DVD releases, prices are higher, but still relatively affordable. New copies begin at 14 dollars, and used copies start at 73 cents. Considering how many copies are among both editions (Somewhat regardless of new or used), figuring out which one to buy is going to be a close call. In the end, it’ll really be up to you.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
I wanted Legend of Lemnear to be good. I really did! From the moment you watch the beginning scenes, you can tell that there’s a good movie somewhere. Instead, I was given an average/above-average OVA, with the only good points being some great animation, and a relatively strong lead. So disappointing!
Legend of Lemnear gets a 5 to 6.5 out of 10.
See you all next week, when we’ll look at something even more dirty than this! Until then, stay Otaku!
Friday, August 30, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Junk Boy Review
Hi guys! Well, my Mom got sick this past weekend. She’s asleep on the couch, taking down water & crackers, then vomiting up said water & crackers on occasion. On top of that, I was hanging out with my friend from the Merchant Marines this past weekend (That I mentioned last week), and I was relatively tired when I came back home. Luckily, I got some energy back to put this review up today. Tragically, it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen, but let’s not waste more time, and look and the rather horrid OVA, simply known as.......Junk Boy.
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“Yamazaki Ryouhei is a cool twenty-three year old, with an extremely high sex drive. A smooth talker with the lady killing eyes and a winning smile, we follow him in his never-ending search for the perfect woman. When Yamazaki catches the eye of the beautiful senior editor, Oda Yuki, you know he's not just going far, he's going all the way.
He lucks into a job at Potato Boy magazine that seems just made for him, but just how far can you get if your only hobby is looking at naked women?
Now he's aiming for the top, turning Potato Boy magazine into one hell of a publication. No one expected things to get so hot, so quickly, but Yamazaki knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. Don't think he will take no for an answer!”
That’s it. No deeper meaning, no intricate plot, no nothing. It’s simple, straight, and to the point. By contrast, it’s weak, basic, and rather boring. Not only that, it’s doesn’t even try to be even a tiny bit clever. Junk Boy’s story is just plain bad!
Setting
Although Junk Boy takes place in a urban environment, it never says where the OVA takes place (If it does mention where it takes place, then I didn’t hear it. For the sake of location, let’s assume that Junk Boy takes place in Tokyo). Other than that, this is perhaps the most boring looking show. There’s no originality to everything, and just when you suspect that there’s a shred of something even remotely original, it’s taken away by how bland everything else is. Even when the OVA travels to a more seedy locale, there’s just no energy to them.
Characters
I haven’t talked about this yet, but Junk Boy is the biggest Goldenboy ripoff I’ve ever seen. It’s the Demon Fighter Kocho of Goldenboy, and nowhere is this more apparent than in it’s characters. They all feel like pale mockeries of the various characters that appear within the much superior Goldenboy. The biggest culprit of this character ripoff is the OVAs lead male, Yamazaki Ryouhei. They try to infuse as much of Goldenboy’s lead male character, Kintaro Oe, as much as possible, and they fail spectacularly!
The only thing that Ryouhei has in common with Kintaro is the fact that he’s a horny bastard, but where Kintaro knew how to control his urges (To the best that he could, anyways), Ryouhei pounces on just about anything he sees. On top of that, he’s nowhere near as clever as Kintaro was, and is hardly as charming to boot.
Animation
The only area of Junk Boy that I’m gonna give at least some positivity towards is it’s animation quality. It’s still not one of the greatest looking OVAs that was ever released, but there’s some charm to it. For starters, the women in this look nice. They got some curves to them, and their bodies seem to be correctly proportioned for their specific age. The men, while not the most handsome looking, all have their own look to them. The only one that doesn’t really have any good looks to their name is Ryouhei. He kinda looks like Michael Jackson coming out of the grave, who went to get plastic surgery to look normal again, then somehow got lit on fire again. Yeah that’s a little extreme, but you gotta trust me on this.
Voice Acting
The voice acting in Junk Boy is.....okay, at best. All of the voice actors seem to put in the minimal of effort. Curiously, this works in favor for some of the characters (Mainly the main character), but it flat out fails for everybody else.
Episodes & Episode Length
Junk Boy, fortunately, is a single 45-minute OVA. A curious fact about this is that it’s essentially two stories in one movie, making me think that this was 2 episodes at one point. Luckily, they put the two together, perhaps in an effort to lessen the pain.
Availability & Pricing
Junk Boy is perhaps one of the hardest titles to locate. Given the fact that it was only a VHS release, it makes locating a tape all the harder. Normally I’d say go to Amazon to find one, but at the moment there aren’t any on the site to be found. Even used copies can’t be bought off of the website!
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
Funny fact: the English voice actor for Ryouhei (Alan Marriott), is the same guy that voiced Daizaburo "Eddie" Ban from Mad Bull 34. Small world, isn’t it?
General Impression & Rating
Normally I’d say something about how bad Junk Boy is, but these two comments from the anidb page fit this OVA the best:
“Watch Golden Boy instead.”
“Only reason you would watch this is by accident thinking it was Golden Boy, leaving you with anger that people recommended it to you, lol!”
Junk Boy gets a 2 to 3 out of 10.
See you all later this week, when we’ll look at something that’s properly scandalous. Until then, stay Otaku!
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“Yamazaki Ryouhei is a cool twenty-three year old, with an extremely high sex drive. A smooth talker with the lady killing eyes and a winning smile, we follow him in his never-ending search for the perfect woman. When Yamazaki catches the eye of the beautiful senior editor, Oda Yuki, you know he's not just going far, he's going all the way.
He lucks into a job at Potato Boy magazine that seems just made for him, but just how far can you get if your only hobby is looking at naked women?
Now he's aiming for the top, turning Potato Boy magazine into one hell of a publication. No one expected things to get so hot, so quickly, but Yamazaki knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. Don't think he will take no for an answer!”
That’s it. No deeper meaning, no intricate plot, no nothing. It’s simple, straight, and to the point. By contrast, it’s weak, basic, and rather boring. Not only that, it’s doesn’t even try to be even a tiny bit clever. Junk Boy’s story is just plain bad!
Setting
Although Junk Boy takes place in a urban environment, it never says where the OVA takes place (If it does mention where it takes place, then I didn’t hear it. For the sake of location, let’s assume that Junk Boy takes place in Tokyo). Other than that, this is perhaps the most boring looking show. There’s no originality to everything, and just when you suspect that there’s a shred of something even remotely original, it’s taken away by how bland everything else is. Even when the OVA travels to a more seedy locale, there’s just no energy to them.
Characters
I haven’t talked about this yet, but Junk Boy is the biggest Goldenboy ripoff I’ve ever seen. It’s the Demon Fighter Kocho of Goldenboy, and nowhere is this more apparent than in it’s characters. They all feel like pale mockeries of the various characters that appear within the much superior Goldenboy. The biggest culprit of this character ripoff is the OVAs lead male, Yamazaki Ryouhei. They try to infuse as much of Goldenboy’s lead male character, Kintaro Oe, as much as possible, and they fail spectacularly!
The only thing that Ryouhei has in common with Kintaro is the fact that he’s a horny bastard, but where Kintaro knew how to control his urges (To the best that he could, anyways), Ryouhei pounces on just about anything he sees. On top of that, he’s nowhere near as clever as Kintaro was, and is hardly as charming to boot.
Animation
The only area of Junk Boy that I’m gonna give at least some positivity towards is it’s animation quality. It’s still not one of the greatest looking OVAs that was ever released, but there’s some charm to it. For starters, the women in this look nice. They got some curves to them, and their bodies seem to be correctly proportioned for their specific age. The men, while not the most handsome looking, all have their own look to them. The only one that doesn’t really have any good looks to their name is Ryouhei. He kinda looks like Michael Jackson coming out of the grave, who went to get plastic surgery to look normal again, then somehow got lit on fire again. Yeah that’s a little extreme, but you gotta trust me on this.
Voice Acting
The voice acting in Junk Boy is.....okay, at best. All of the voice actors seem to put in the minimal of effort. Curiously, this works in favor for some of the characters (Mainly the main character), but it flat out fails for everybody else.
Episodes & Episode Length
Junk Boy, fortunately, is a single 45-minute OVA. A curious fact about this is that it’s essentially two stories in one movie, making me think that this was 2 episodes at one point. Luckily, they put the two together, perhaps in an effort to lessen the pain.
Availability & Pricing
Junk Boy is perhaps one of the hardest titles to locate. Given the fact that it was only a VHS release, it makes locating a tape all the harder. Normally I’d say go to Amazon to find one, but at the moment there aren’t any on the site to be found. Even used copies can’t be bought off of the website!
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
Funny fact: the English voice actor for Ryouhei (Alan Marriott), is the same guy that voiced Daizaburo "Eddie" Ban from Mad Bull 34. Small world, isn’t it?
General Impression & Rating
Normally I’d say something about how bad Junk Boy is, but these two comments from the anidb page fit this OVA the best:
“Watch Golden Boy instead.”
“Only reason you would watch this is by accident thinking it was Golden Boy, leaving you with anger that people recommended it to you, lol!”
Junk Boy gets a 2 to 3 out of 10.
See you all later this week, when we’ll look at something that’s properly scandalous. Until then, stay Otaku!
Thursday, August 22, 2013
I Dream of Mimi Review
Hi guys! Well, it looks like I was able to put up a 2nd review this week after all. Granted, I’m posting this up a day early, but that’s because of my friend that came back from the Merchant Marines, as he and a bunch of other buddies of mine are hanging out tomorrow. With that said, let’s continue with the sleezy vibe that I started this Monday, and check out the charming yet sleazy I Dream of Mimi. Be sure to have a tissue or two by your side!
Story/Setup
Taken from the Anime News Network website:
“For three years Akira has been saving up for a computer. When a model 9821 goes on sale he runs to the store only to find it sold out in five minutes. Discouraged, walking home he discovers a man in an alley who happens to have the computer he was looking for. Excited he buys the computer and runs home only to find that he didn’t purchase a 9821 but a 2198, a super advanced biomechanical computer girl named Mimi.”
There’s actually more to this story that what I put down, but to tell you more would ruin this strange yet wonderful OVA. This might not be a deep story, but it’s easy to understand.
Setting
Like Hanappe Bazooka from this past Monday, I Dream of Mimi takes place in two worlds: the real world, and the computer world. The real world is filled with schools, houses, cities, etc. Unlike a lot of other shows that rely on these places, you kinda want to walk around these places, simply due to the characters within them (Look below to see why). It’s when the OVA travels to the computer world that things take a walk on the odd side. It’s very reminiscent of Reboot, a cartoon from the 90s that was entirely animated by computers, and dealt with similar subjects (Minus the sex). There’s an alien yet familiar feeling to the computer world in this ova, a feeling of the unknown, yet at the same time you feel like you know this world, as if you’ve seen it in a dream. Nice!
Characters
The cast of I Dream of Mimi is small, but enjoyable. Akira comes across as the standard nerd: friendly, knowledgeable, and geeky. The most surprising about him is that he’s quite reluctant in having sex with Mimi & the other girls, which is highly atypical among geeky guys in a hentai title. This all leads to Mimi herself....
You’d expect a girl with a name like that to be cute & ditzy, and to a certain extent you are correct. Mimi is indeed cute (I consider her to be more of a combination of cute & pretty), and she does have moments where she appears to act ditzy, but she’s actually quite clever, and has a bit of a mischievous side to her. Simply put, I find Mimi is the kind of girl I’d like to magically appear in my life, so to speak.
The rest of the cast is equally wonderful as well, although because everybody else is rather secondary, they don’t quite have as much of the spotlight pointed on them. They’re fun while they’re on screen, but once they have their moments, they’re done.
Animation
I Dream of Mimi has some of the best 90s animation I’ve ever seen. Although it was released in the late 90s (1997, to be specific), a period when computer usage was starting to gain a place (Whether good or bad is up to personal taste. For me, I’m right in the middle, but this debate is for another time), but I Dream of Mimi is a title that is hand-drawn only, or at the very least heavily looks like it was hand-drawn. The girls range from cute to sexy, while the guys range from humble to mildly handsome (A far-cry from this past Monday’s collection of male characters). The various backgrounds range from plain but nice, to surreal & trippy. Again, this OVA has some nice 90s animation.
Voice Acting
This voice acting in this is surprisingly good!
There might be a moment or two where a character’s voice might sound a little weak, but I enjoyed listening to this dub. There’s a lot of good energy coming from the voice actors, and they all seem like they want to be the roles they were given. To be a little more honest, I suggest watching this show with the dub on, as I find that the original Japanese audio doesn’t quite convey the humor & wackiness as well as the English voice did.
Episodes & Episode Length
I Dream of Mimi is a 3-episode OVA, each of which run for close to 30 minutes each. Watch this one at night, as it has some pretty risque material in it (More on this in a bit).
Availability & Pricing
Good lord was this one hard to find! Again, this is another one of those “Hard but not impossible to find” kind of shows, with an emphasis on the hard part of that last statement. I was able to locate a couple copies over on Amazon: there is currently only 1 new copy (Which is priced at almost 100 dollars!), and 17 used copies (Which start at close to 10 dollars in pricing). If you are absolutely in need of some softcore material (More on this in a bit), then buy the new copy. If you want to buy it on the cheap, then buy a used copy.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
Before I end this review, I’d like to quickly talk about two things. For starters, the creator of I Dream of Mimi seems to have a pretty good grasp of computers. He knows about programming, the various brands of the time, and even goes into some detail about computing as a whole. Unfortunately, this really seems to be the only thing the creator knows about, and coupled with the amount of computer puns in this show, it’s clear he wanted to target young male geeks rather than anyone else.
Secondly, despite being a hentai title (and the 2nd in the genre to appear on this blog), the sexual content is rather light. Sure, there is oral sex & humping, but you never see anything sucked on or put in. Often at times, the sexual content is really used for laughs (Although there is a moment about half-way/three-fourths through where things become a little more intense). If you were expecting an intense sexual experience in I Dream of Mimi, then you’re going to be incredibly disappointed.
General Impression & Rating
I Dream of Mimi is fun! Damn fun!
It’s the kind of fun that will make you either giggle, smile, or laugh out loud. While there’s definitely series & OVAs released now that do have this kind of effect on people, they don’t seem to be as intense now in this regard. If you want a fun, funny, and sexy time, then I suggest you find this OVA, and give it a go!
I Dream of Mimi gets a 8 out of 10.
See you all later this week. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
Oh, the intro to Origins (The last DLC zombie level for Black Ops 2) came out earlier this week. Give it a look, and enjoy the awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTytL0zsKmo
Story/Setup
Taken from the Anime News Network website:
“For three years Akira has been saving up for a computer. When a model 9821 goes on sale he runs to the store only to find it sold out in five minutes. Discouraged, walking home he discovers a man in an alley who happens to have the computer he was looking for. Excited he buys the computer and runs home only to find that he didn’t purchase a 9821 but a 2198, a super advanced biomechanical computer girl named Mimi.”
There’s actually more to this story that what I put down, but to tell you more would ruin this strange yet wonderful OVA. This might not be a deep story, but it’s easy to understand.
Setting
Like Hanappe Bazooka from this past Monday, I Dream of Mimi takes place in two worlds: the real world, and the computer world. The real world is filled with schools, houses, cities, etc. Unlike a lot of other shows that rely on these places, you kinda want to walk around these places, simply due to the characters within them (Look below to see why). It’s when the OVA travels to the computer world that things take a walk on the odd side. It’s very reminiscent of Reboot, a cartoon from the 90s that was entirely animated by computers, and dealt with similar subjects (Minus the sex). There’s an alien yet familiar feeling to the computer world in this ova, a feeling of the unknown, yet at the same time you feel like you know this world, as if you’ve seen it in a dream. Nice!
Characters
The cast of I Dream of Mimi is small, but enjoyable. Akira comes across as the standard nerd: friendly, knowledgeable, and geeky. The most surprising about him is that he’s quite reluctant in having sex with Mimi & the other girls, which is highly atypical among geeky guys in a hentai title. This all leads to Mimi herself....
You’d expect a girl with a name like that to be cute & ditzy, and to a certain extent you are correct. Mimi is indeed cute (I consider her to be more of a combination of cute & pretty), and she does have moments where she appears to act ditzy, but she’s actually quite clever, and has a bit of a mischievous side to her. Simply put, I find Mimi is the kind of girl I’d like to magically appear in my life, so to speak.
The rest of the cast is equally wonderful as well, although because everybody else is rather secondary, they don’t quite have as much of the spotlight pointed on them. They’re fun while they’re on screen, but once they have their moments, they’re done.
Animation
I Dream of Mimi has some of the best 90s animation I’ve ever seen. Although it was released in the late 90s (1997, to be specific), a period when computer usage was starting to gain a place (Whether good or bad is up to personal taste. For me, I’m right in the middle, but this debate is for another time), but I Dream of Mimi is a title that is hand-drawn only, or at the very least heavily looks like it was hand-drawn. The girls range from cute to sexy, while the guys range from humble to mildly handsome (A far-cry from this past Monday’s collection of male characters). The various backgrounds range from plain but nice, to surreal & trippy. Again, this OVA has some nice 90s animation.
Voice Acting
This voice acting in this is surprisingly good!
There might be a moment or two where a character’s voice might sound a little weak, but I enjoyed listening to this dub. There’s a lot of good energy coming from the voice actors, and they all seem like they want to be the roles they were given. To be a little more honest, I suggest watching this show with the dub on, as I find that the original Japanese audio doesn’t quite convey the humor & wackiness as well as the English voice did.
Episodes & Episode Length
I Dream of Mimi is a 3-episode OVA, each of which run for close to 30 minutes each. Watch this one at night, as it has some pretty risque material in it (More on this in a bit).
Availability & Pricing
Good lord was this one hard to find! Again, this is another one of those “Hard but not impossible to find” kind of shows, with an emphasis on the hard part of that last statement. I was able to locate a couple copies over on Amazon: there is currently only 1 new copy (Which is priced at almost 100 dollars!), and 17 used copies (Which start at close to 10 dollars in pricing). If you are absolutely in need of some softcore material (More on this in a bit), then buy the new copy. If you want to buy it on the cheap, then buy a used copy.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
Before I end this review, I’d like to quickly talk about two things. For starters, the creator of I Dream of Mimi seems to have a pretty good grasp of computers. He knows about programming, the various brands of the time, and even goes into some detail about computing as a whole. Unfortunately, this really seems to be the only thing the creator knows about, and coupled with the amount of computer puns in this show, it’s clear he wanted to target young male geeks rather than anyone else.
Secondly, despite being a hentai title (and the 2nd in the genre to appear on this blog), the sexual content is rather light. Sure, there is oral sex & humping, but you never see anything sucked on or put in. Often at times, the sexual content is really used for laughs (Although there is a moment about half-way/three-fourths through where things become a little more intense). If you were expecting an intense sexual experience in I Dream of Mimi, then you’re going to be incredibly disappointed.
General Impression & Rating
I Dream of Mimi is fun! Damn fun!
It’s the kind of fun that will make you either giggle, smile, or laugh out loud. While there’s definitely series & OVAs released now that do have this kind of effect on people, they don’t seem to be as intense now in this regard. If you want a fun, funny, and sexy time, then I suggest you find this OVA, and give it a go!
I Dream of Mimi gets a 8 out of 10.
See you all later this week. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
Oh, the intro to Origins (The last DLC zombie level for Black Ops 2) came out earlier this week. Give it a look, and enjoy the awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTytL0zsKmo
Monday, August 19, 2013
Hanappe Bazooka Review
Hi everyone! My Grandma from South Carolina came up last Saturday, so my scheduling this week might be off. On top of that, my friend that was in the Merchant Marines came back recently, so my second review might not get put up this Friday (I’ll be hanging out with him that day). With that said, let’s start off this week with one of the weirdest & wildest OVAs I’ve ever seen, and take a look at Hanappe Bazooka!
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“Lecherous high school boy Hanappe is visited by two demons who step from his TV and immediately fall in lust with his mother and sister. The demons turn Hanappe’s home into a meeting ground for their demonic friends and grant Hanappe the power of the Hanappe Bazooka. Now his index finger is capable of both a deadly blast and the ability to drive women in a lustful frenzy, but Hanappe isn’t very good at controlling it and winds up in serious trouble.”
Yep people, this is a strange story. Theirs is only one man who can come up with such a story. A man who’s produced some of the most original, strange, surreal, and dirty shows ever seen by otaku. That man’s name.....is Go Nagai. I love him for his weirdness, and this story is no exception.
Setting
Hanappe Bazooka is split roughly between two settings: the real world, and the supernatural/space world. The real world is nothing special, and is actually kinda forgettable. It’s when the OVA goes to the strange places that things looks fresh & different. There’s the demonic world, outer space, space ships, and a host of other wacky locations. Points for creativity!
Characters
Like pretty much all of Go Nagai’s shows, the cast is a combination of lecherous, kind, odd, sexy, etc. The lead is a lecherous lout that you hate at first, but when he grows a spine & gains something of a heart, you kinda want to cheer him on. You’d got the demons, who are dark, sinister, yet can become incredibly lighthearted & funny. Then there’s the rest of the people, who fall into a soup of standard Go Nagai characters (Standard is being used loosely here). Depending on how you look at it, that last statement is either a good thing or a bad thing.
Animation
Right off the bat, you can tell that this is a Go Nagai title. The girls look lovely/cute/sexy, the guys range from ugly, to gruff, to mildly handsome, and the background & various setting can be either normal or strange looking. As far as the overall look & feel is concerned, Hanappe Bazooka isn’t a bad looking show. You can definitely tell it’s a product of it’s time, but overall it’s an alright looking OVA.
Voice Acting
The copy I downloaded has subtitles. Whether the original version released in the United States had a dub, I’m not certain about that.
Episodes & Episode Length
Hanappe Bazooka is a one-shot movie, clocking in at 45 minutes & 33 seconds. Kinda like Golgo 13 & Gundress from last week, I suggest that you watch this at night!
Availability & Pricing
Now, I do know that this was released in the United States. Put out by ADV Films on the 4th of September in 1992 (That’s the date I saw on Wikipedia), this was a title that was available at that point in time. Now, I can’t even find any of those copies. To make things a little more complicated, I don’t know if this was released on DVD when ADV embraced the format. This is definitely one of the rarest OVAs in the anime world that I’ve encountered to date.
If you would like to download it, then click the link below:
http://www.garoo9.com/elevator_kart/?p=682
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
Hanappe Bazooka is a fun OVA. It’s not a perfect OVA by any stretch of the imagination, as it has some problems. Despite that, this is a rather goofy, dirty, and all around good time of a movie. I recommend watching this: perhaps for curiosity’s sake, or for the fact that you can say that you watched it.
Hanappe Bazooka gets a 7.5 out of 10.
See you all later this week. Until then, stay Otaku!
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“Lecherous high school boy Hanappe is visited by two demons who step from his TV and immediately fall in lust with his mother and sister. The demons turn Hanappe’s home into a meeting ground for their demonic friends and grant Hanappe the power of the Hanappe Bazooka. Now his index finger is capable of both a deadly blast and the ability to drive women in a lustful frenzy, but Hanappe isn’t very good at controlling it and winds up in serious trouble.”
Yep people, this is a strange story. Theirs is only one man who can come up with such a story. A man who’s produced some of the most original, strange, surreal, and dirty shows ever seen by otaku. That man’s name.....is Go Nagai. I love him for his weirdness, and this story is no exception.
Setting
Hanappe Bazooka is split roughly between two settings: the real world, and the supernatural/space world. The real world is nothing special, and is actually kinda forgettable. It’s when the OVA goes to the strange places that things looks fresh & different. There’s the demonic world, outer space, space ships, and a host of other wacky locations. Points for creativity!
Characters
Like pretty much all of Go Nagai’s shows, the cast is a combination of lecherous, kind, odd, sexy, etc. The lead is a lecherous lout that you hate at first, but when he grows a spine & gains something of a heart, you kinda want to cheer him on. You’d got the demons, who are dark, sinister, yet can become incredibly lighthearted & funny. Then there’s the rest of the people, who fall into a soup of standard Go Nagai characters (Standard is being used loosely here). Depending on how you look at it, that last statement is either a good thing or a bad thing.
Animation
Right off the bat, you can tell that this is a Go Nagai title. The girls look lovely/cute/sexy, the guys range from ugly, to gruff, to mildly handsome, and the background & various setting can be either normal or strange looking. As far as the overall look & feel is concerned, Hanappe Bazooka isn’t a bad looking show. You can definitely tell it’s a product of it’s time, but overall it’s an alright looking OVA.
Voice Acting
The copy I downloaded has subtitles. Whether the original version released in the United States had a dub, I’m not certain about that.
Episodes & Episode Length
Hanappe Bazooka is a one-shot movie, clocking in at 45 minutes & 33 seconds. Kinda like Golgo 13 & Gundress from last week, I suggest that you watch this at night!
Availability & Pricing
Now, I do know that this was released in the United States. Put out by ADV Films on the 4th of September in 1992 (That’s the date I saw on Wikipedia), this was a title that was available at that point in time. Now, I can’t even find any of those copies. To make things a little more complicated, I don’t know if this was released on DVD when ADV embraced the format. This is definitely one of the rarest OVAs in the anime world that I’ve encountered to date.
If you would like to download it, then click the link below:
http://www.garoo9.com/elevator_kart/?p=682
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
Hanappe Bazooka is a fun OVA. It’s not a perfect OVA by any stretch of the imagination, as it has some problems. Despite that, this is a rather goofy, dirty, and all around good time of a movie. I recommend watching this: perhaps for curiosity’s sake, or for the fact that you can say that you watched it.
Hanappe Bazooka gets a 7.5 out of 10.
See you all later this week. Until then, stay Otaku!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Gundress Review
Hi guys! Today’s review is a movie from the iconic Masamune Shirow, who’s known for creating equally iconic films like Akira & Ghost in the Shell. The film today, however, is known in a less than stellar light. Is it as bad as everyone says, or is this an underrated gem? Well, I’ll be the judge of this, so without further delays, here’s my review for Gundress.
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“In 2100, the newly built Bayside City serves as Japan's premier international port. The Angel Arms Company is established by a former policewoman named Takako, to help wage war on terrorism with armed security suits.
When the mayor is assassinated, the women of Angel Arms end up protecting the evil crime-lord Hassan, in hopes that his information will help bring down a global terror ring. Takako's back is to the wall as a band of criminals plot to kill Hassan, and the organization's leader is revealed to be the former lover of Angel Arms' own Alisa.”
On the surface, this looks decent. It’s basic, but it appears like a functional story for a movie. When I watched it, I thought it was okay, but when I looked online I found a different view. Here’s just one quote I found:
“The story was full of plot-holes and little background information. Why was Angel Arms created? When? How did these characters come to join it? How was the leader, Takakura, chosen? Why did the villains indiscriminately bomb the city? And many other questions.
Also, the entire story focuses on the protection of Hassan from terrorists, and supposedly the police and army is helping out, but we never see them besides a couple useless helicopters. The "arch villain" also only makes a brief appearance at the end, and really doesn't do anything; the story is left very open as to whether he is caught or not.”
Damn! That’s not good, now is it?
Setting
Gundress’s setting is a rather plain, quasi post-apocalyptic style environment. Most of the locations in the movie are on the verge of boring, with the exception of one. Towards the end of the OVA, digital version of Alissa and her ex-boyfriend are battling out in a computer environment. It’s rather trippy, and it’s really the only place in the movie that shows any signs of originality.
Characters
Taken from the same place as the quote above:
“The characters were all pretty one-dimensional, lacked background and development, and were generally annoying. The idiotic police commisioner was getting knocked unconscious by the Angel Arms every 5 minutes but still helped them for some reason. Hassan is the Boss of a smuggling ring for deadly weapons, but the story attempts to portray him as "not so bad"; the Angel Arms even save him and let him wander around free even though he tried to kill them the day before.
The relationship between Alissa and her ex-boyfriend was also unrealistic and cliche, and though it was probably the biggest part of the storyline, I found myself bored by the whole ending scene with her and him in the computer.
Every one of the Angel Arms is also very stereotypical: the computer geek, the weak one, the athletic one, the idealistic leader, etc. None of their backgrounds are explained, and even now, 30 minutes after watching the movie, I have forgotten all of their names.”
Harsh, isn’t it?
Animation
This was first released back in 1999, but you wouldn’t believe it from the animation quality. From the animation quality alone, you’d assume that Gundress was a OVA from the mid to early 90s, not something from the late 90s. Having said that, this isn’t an ugly movie. It’s not something that you’d want to post up in the museum of fine arts, but the characters & mechs look alright, and the various locales look decent enough.
Voice Acting
Surprisingly, the one area you’d expect to suck really bad would be the voice acting. This is not the case, as the English Dub is quite enjoyable to listen to. It seems that the voice actors legitimately put their time & energy into the roles they were given, whether it was a primary character, or a secondary one.
Episodes & Episode Length
Gundress is a one-time OVA movie, clocking in at almost an hour and a half (1 Hour & 25 Minutes). Perfect for a evening viewing (Read below to see why).
Availability & Pricing
Gundress was a show released by Anime Works, and like many of their titles, are now difficult to locate. Luckily, two releases can be found over on Amazon: a nearly impossible VHS release (Which is ironically cheaper, with pricing from 2 dollars to 10), and a more readily available DVD release. The pricing for the DVD edition is a little more expensive, but nothing serious. New copies start at a little over 16 dollars, while used copies begin at close to 3 dollars. In this circumstance, buy the DVD instead of the tape.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
I should point out that this is not a movie that you shouldn’t show to kids. I’ve reviewed plenty of adult titles on this blog, and while Gundress isn’t necessarily one of the most triple x of films I’ve watched (That honor goes to La Blue Girl), it’s still something that younger people shouldn’t see. There’s nudity (While I appreciated the nudity, I didn’t quite see a point in it), violence, and enough blood to make things unnerving, but not enough to give you nightmares.
General Impression & Rating
Gundress had potential. Lots of potential. You could feel the potential in just about every scene, every line spoken, and almost everything else. Unfortunately, this movie falls flat onto it’s animated face. This is the Baoh of August, and that movie was boring as hell! Gundress is pretty much the same thing. It’s tragic, in all honesty.
Gundress gets a 5 out of 10.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“In 2100, the newly built Bayside City serves as Japan's premier international port. The Angel Arms Company is established by a former policewoman named Takako, to help wage war on terrorism with armed security suits.
When the mayor is assassinated, the women of Angel Arms end up protecting the evil crime-lord Hassan, in hopes that his information will help bring down a global terror ring. Takako's back is to the wall as a band of criminals plot to kill Hassan, and the organization's leader is revealed to be the former lover of Angel Arms' own Alisa.”
On the surface, this looks decent. It’s basic, but it appears like a functional story for a movie. When I watched it, I thought it was okay, but when I looked online I found a different view. Here’s just one quote I found:
“The story was full of plot-holes and little background information. Why was Angel Arms created? When? How did these characters come to join it? How was the leader, Takakura, chosen? Why did the villains indiscriminately bomb the city? And many other questions.
Also, the entire story focuses on the protection of Hassan from terrorists, and supposedly the police and army is helping out, but we never see them besides a couple useless helicopters. The "arch villain" also only makes a brief appearance at the end, and really doesn't do anything; the story is left very open as to whether he is caught or not.”
Damn! That’s not good, now is it?
Setting
Gundress’s setting is a rather plain, quasi post-apocalyptic style environment. Most of the locations in the movie are on the verge of boring, with the exception of one. Towards the end of the OVA, digital version of Alissa and her ex-boyfriend are battling out in a computer environment. It’s rather trippy, and it’s really the only place in the movie that shows any signs of originality.
Characters
Taken from the same place as the quote above:
“The characters were all pretty one-dimensional, lacked background and development, and were generally annoying. The idiotic police commisioner was getting knocked unconscious by the Angel Arms every 5 minutes but still helped them for some reason. Hassan is the Boss of a smuggling ring for deadly weapons, but the story attempts to portray him as "not so bad"; the Angel Arms even save him and let him wander around free even though he tried to kill them the day before.
The relationship between Alissa and her ex-boyfriend was also unrealistic and cliche, and though it was probably the biggest part of the storyline, I found myself bored by the whole ending scene with her and him in the computer.
Every one of the Angel Arms is also very stereotypical: the computer geek, the weak one, the athletic one, the idealistic leader, etc. None of their backgrounds are explained, and even now, 30 minutes after watching the movie, I have forgotten all of their names.”
Harsh, isn’t it?
Animation
This was first released back in 1999, but you wouldn’t believe it from the animation quality. From the animation quality alone, you’d assume that Gundress was a OVA from the mid to early 90s, not something from the late 90s. Having said that, this isn’t an ugly movie. It’s not something that you’d want to post up in the museum of fine arts, but the characters & mechs look alright, and the various locales look decent enough.
Voice Acting
Surprisingly, the one area you’d expect to suck really bad would be the voice acting. This is not the case, as the English Dub is quite enjoyable to listen to. It seems that the voice actors legitimately put their time & energy into the roles they were given, whether it was a primary character, or a secondary one.
Episodes & Episode Length
Gundress is a one-time OVA movie, clocking in at almost an hour and a half (1 Hour & 25 Minutes). Perfect for a evening viewing (Read below to see why).
Availability & Pricing
Gundress was a show released by Anime Works, and like many of their titles, are now difficult to locate. Luckily, two releases can be found over on Amazon: a nearly impossible VHS release (Which is ironically cheaper, with pricing from 2 dollars to 10), and a more readily available DVD release. The pricing for the DVD edition is a little more expensive, but nothing serious. New copies start at a little over 16 dollars, while used copies begin at close to 3 dollars. In this circumstance, buy the DVD instead of the tape.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
I should point out that this is not a movie that you shouldn’t show to kids. I’ve reviewed plenty of adult titles on this blog, and while Gundress isn’t necessarily one of the most triple x of films I’ve watched (That honor goes to La Blue Girl), it’s still something that younger people shouldn’t see. There’s nudity (While I appreciated the nudity, I didn’t quite see a point in it), violence, and enough blood to make things unnerving, but not enough to give you nightmares.
General Impression & Rating
Gundress had potential. Lots of potential. You could feel the potential in just about every scene, every line spoken, and almost everything else. Unfortunately, this movie falls flat onto it’s animated face. This is the Baoh of August, and that movie was boring as hell! Gundress is pretty much the same thing. It’s tragic, in all honesty.
Gundress gets a 5 out of 10.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
Monday, August 12, 2013
Golgo 13: The Professional Review
Hi everybody!
Well, I’m winding down with the amount of reviews I’ve got left. If you haven’t been paying attention to my Anime Acquisition Update (Quickie) post that I put up back in April, I have 19 reviews left to do. Today’s review was the 20th, so let’s not waste more time, and look at the infamous Golgo 13: The Professional.
Story/Setup
The 3rd film overall, and the first to be based off the source manga, Golgo 13: The Professional continues the violent adventures of Duke Togo, who’s better known as Golgo 13, professional assassin. He’s hired to kill Robert Dawson, son of oil baron Leonard Dawson. He succeeds in killing his target, but in the issuing process causes his target’s father to go on the most violent & brutal revenge spree in anime history. I can’t reveal anything (There’s lost of twists & turns in the movie, and just about all of them you won’t see coming), save for the fact that there’s action, violence, intrigue, and a host of other things. The story might be basic, but it’s actually really good & entertaining.
Setting
Just like Crying Freeman & Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, Golgo 13: The Professional travels all over the globe. Over the course of the movie, the viewer travels to Sicily, San Francisco, the jungles of South America, and finally New York City. Also Like FF: TMP, the locations here all have their own, style, look, and feel to them.
Characters
See my Goku: Midnight Eye review for details.
Animation
For starters, let me just say that Golgo 13: The Professional is a product of it’s time when it comes to animation. Right away, you can tell that this movie comes from the 80s. There’s a certain cheesy quality when you first see the characters’s faces, and other aspect of the movies can be giggle inducing, but this OVA is far from ugly. In fact, there are many moments that are quite beautiful. There are certain deaths scenes that look gorgeous, and some of the more peaceful scenes can be quite touching. A lot of OVAs from the 80s don’t quite cut it in the looks department, but this one is an exception.
Voice Acting
The version I managed to snag/download was dubbed, and to tell you the truth, it’s alright. It not the most horrible thing to listen to, as the voices actors seem to do an okay job. I find that, more often than not, the characters sound rather plain. Everybody can sound like they have more emotion than what they provide, but more often than not there’s a flat feeling to everybody’s voice.
Episodes & Episode Length
Golgo 13: The Professional is a full length movie. Like Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, this one runs over an hour. An hour & 33 minutes (And 32 seconds), to be exact. Watch this one at night, folks!
Availability & Pricing
Despite being an older release, you can still find Golgo 13 if you know where to look (My Suggestion.....Amazon). It was released ages ago on VHS, and while there aren’t that many copies, the pricing isn’t terrible (Ranges from 1 dollar to about 20 dollars). There are two DVD versions: one from 2005, and another from last year. The prices for new copies (For both versions) is actually really great: the price for the 2005 edition starts at $9.63, while the 2012 edition starts at a slightly less $9.04 dollars. Curiously, there’s a lot of used copies for the 2005 version, but hardly any for the 2012 version. The used prices for the 2005 copy start at almost 5 dollars, while the first of the 3 used copies of the 2012 edition starts at a little over 13 dollars. This is one of those situation where new or used really won’t cause any problems (Unless your used copy doesn’t work).
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
While I’m not a fan of this movie, I can recognize a good film when I see one, and Golgo 13: The Professional is a good movie. Yeah there are a couple shortcomings, but they don’t detract the good things about this OVA. If you like more serious movies, then I suggest you find this and give it a watch!
Golgo 13: The Professional gets a 8 out of 10.
See you all later this week. Until then, stay Otaku!
Well, I’m winding down with the amount of reviews I’ve got left. If you haven’t been paying attention to my Anime Acquisition Update (Quickie) post that I put up back in April, I have 19 reviews left to do. Today’s review was the 20th, so let’s not waste more time, and look at the infamous Golgo 13: The Professional.
Story/Setup
The 3rd film overall, and the first to be based off the source manga, Golgo 13: The Professional continues the violent adventures of Duke Togo, who’s better known as Golgo 13, professional assassin. He’s hired to kill Robert Dawson, son of oil baron Leonard Dawson. He succeeds in killing his target, but in the issuing process causes his target’s father to go on the most violent & brutal revenge spree in anime history. I can’t reveal anything (There’s lost of twists & turns in the movie, and just about all of them you won’t see coming), save for the fact that there’s action, violence, intrigue, and a host of other things. The story might be basic, but it’s actually really good & entertaining.
Setting
Just like Crying Freeman & Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, Golgo 13: The Professional travels all over the globe. Over the course of the movie, the viewer travels to Sicily, San Francisco, the jungles of South America, and finally New York City. Also Like FF: TMP, the locations here all have their own, style, look, and feel to them.
Characters
See my Goku: Midnight Eye review for details.
Animation
For starters, let me just say that Golgo 13: The Professional is a product of it’s time when it comes to animation. Right away, you can tell that this movie comes from the 80s. There’s a certain cheesy quality when you first see the characters’s faces, and other aspect of the movies can be giggle inducing, but this OVA is far from ugly. In fact, there are many moments that are quite beautiful. There are certain deaths scenes that look gorgeous, and some of the more peaceful scenes can be quite touching. A lot of OVAs from the 80s don’t quite cut it in the looks department, but this one is an exception.
Voice Acting
The version I managed to snag/download was dubbed, and to tell you the truth, it’s alright. It not the most horrible thing to listen to, as the voices actors seem to do an okay job. I find that, more often than not, the characters sound rather plain. Everybody can sound like they have more emotion than what they provide, but more often than not there’s a flat feeling to everybody’s voice.
Episodes & Episode Length
Golgo 13: The Professional is a full length movie. Like Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture, this one runs over an hour. An hour & 33 minutes (And 32 seconds), to be exact. Watch this one at night, folks!
Availability & Pricing
Despite being an older release, you can still find Golgo 13 if you know where to look (My Suggestion.....Amazon). It was released ages ago on VHS, and while there aren’t that many copies, the pricing isn’t terrible (Ranges from 1 dollar to about 20 dollars). There are two DVD versions: one from 2005, and another from last year. The prices for new copies (For both versions) is actually really great: the price for the 2005 edition starts at $9.63, while the 2012 edition starts at a slightly less $9.04 dollars. Curiously, there’s a lot of used copies for the 2005 version, but hardly any for the 2012 version. The used prices for the 2005 copy start at almost 5 dollars, while the first of the 3 used copies of the 2012 edition starts at a little over 13 dollars. This is one of those situation where new or used really won’t cause any problems (Unless your used copy doesn’t work).
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
While I’m not a fan of this movie, I can recognize a good film when I see one, and Golgo 13: The Professional is a good movie. Yeah there are a couple shortcomings, but they don’t detract the good things about this OVA. If you like more serious movies, then I suggest you find this and give it a watch!
Golgo 13: The Professional gets a 8 out of 10.
See you all later this week. Until then, stay Otaku!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Goku: Midnight Eye Review
Hi there! This week began with a rather goofy review, so today’s review is a serious one. It’s been around for quite a while, yet it hasn’t had a reissue on DVD yet, despite a resurgence of old shows on that format is recent years. With that said, let’s look at a review for the grim & entertaining OVA, Goku - Midnight Eye.
Story/Setup
Part 1 from the anidb page:
“Tokyo 2014: A city balancing on the knife-edge between financial prosperity and seismic destruction. It is a place where the lights are bright, the stakes are high, and where the threat of imminent destruction breeds crime like a disease. But for Gokuu Furinji, ex-cop and super-powered private detective, crime is money...”
Part 2 from the anidb page:
“Gokuu, the lone wolf private detective is back, contracted by Yoshiko, a mysterious, beautiful and very afraid woman, to find and save her brother, Ryu. Will Gokuu be able to protect Yoshiko from her step father's soldiers long enough to find her brother?
Meanwhile Ryu, the unfortunate subject of a military experiment gone bad, leaves a trail of bodies behind him and has no intention of being found or saved by anyone. Will Gokuu have to kill the man he is supposed to save? Will even his omniscient cybernetic eye and sceptre be enough to help him defeat this indestructible killing machine?”
These two stories, despite looking basic on the surface, have some depth to them. There’s intrigue, deception, cybernetic modification, love, and a smattering of other things. I think there’s moments where these stories trade spectacle for substance (Watch the fist few minutes of the first OVA to see my point), but more often than not these OVAs know how to balance these two components.
Setting
Like it says in the story for the first OVA, Goku - Midnight Eye takes place in a futuristic Tokyo. A futuristic version of one of Japan’s most iconic cities has been done numerous times in Anime, but this version feels a little different (At least for me). It’s bleak, oppressive, sleazy, and there’s this “Hey, something okay might happen to ya, but I’m gonna bitchslap it out of your hands” kind of feeling. It’s very reminiscent of Los Angeles from Blade Runner, and Neo-Tokyo from Bubblegum Crisis.
Characters
Like I said in the story & setting, the character feels very much like those you’d find in a Film-Noir, and with good reason. There’s a distinct aura of tragedy that seems to surround everyone, which already adds to the oppressive environment that these two OVAs take place in. Sure, everybody might have more hopeful (I’m using that last word rather loosely) moments, the dark nature of Goku’s world crushes those moments, and everybody falls right back into their depressing shell.
Animation
These OVAs were directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who’s appeared on my blog a couple times now. His visual style (Look in the “Setting” portion above) is very distinct, and this ties into the animation. Things are very slow paced, very methodical, and very distinct. When the action picks up, however, the pace is sped up a bit, allowing for some fast paced fight scenes, along with some gruesome carnage.
Voice Acting
Although the copies I had were subbed only, when it came out on VHS in the states, it did have an English dub. I managed to find it over on youtube, and I took a quick listen to it. The voice acting is meh: there’s definitely some effort put into some of the character’s voices, but others just don’t quite have it.
Episodes & Episode Length
Goku - Midnight Eye is composed of two episodes, each of which run at about 50 minutes (Second episode runs close to 53 minutes). If you’d like to watch them (Especially if you’re a stickler for subtitles), then click on the links below:
Ep 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN0PtwkGHyU
Ep 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7vFx3_hGmo
Just be sure to have a bottle of whiskey by your side, and the lights as dim as the sunset on the horizon.
Availability & Pricing
Goku - Midnight Eye is an oddity when it comes to being available. Despite not being available on DVD in the United States (It only recently appeared on DVD over in Japan), the original tapes can still be found with some frequency on Amazon (Availability fluctuates between new & used). Pricing for new tapes can be incredibly reasonable: the lowest start at 3 to about 10 dollars, and the highest is a respectable 25 dollars (Although there is a box-set edition from 2001, with pricing for a new copy at nearly 100 dollars!). Pricing for used copes is also not bad (Although 40 dollars is a little extreme for a used VHS), but if you’re going to buy one, I highly suggest you buy a new tape instead of one that’s potentially damaged.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are (Since this was only released on VHS in the states, I doubt there was any extras).
General Impression & Rating
If you’re a fan of Film-Noir movies, give this one a go. The characters are serious minded, and they don’t fool around (Except with the ladies) in the slightest. You got dark but great visuals, a equally dark but intriguing and it’s surprisingly available despite being a VHS only release. Personally, this show is not my thing, but I understand the appeal of these OVAs, and I think there’s some good qualities to them. There’s still a problem or two, but nothing that really makes these movies an abomination in the world of anime.
Goku - Midnight Eye gets a 7 out of 10.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If you’d like to download this show (Subtitles Only), then check out the link below:
http://www.garoo9.com/elevator_kart/?s=goku+midnight+eye
On top of that, here’s some links to the anidb pages of both of these OVAs:
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1507
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1545
Story/Setup
Part 1 from the anidb page:
“Tokyo 2014: A city balancing on the knife-edge between financial prosperity and seismic destruction. It is a place where the lights are bright, the stakes are high, and where the threat of imminent destruction breeds crime like a disease. But for Gokuu Furinji, ex-cop and super-powered private detective, crime is money...”
Part 2 from the anidb page:
“Gokuu, the lone wolf private detective is back, contracted by Yoshiko, a mysterious, beautiful and very afraid woman, to find and save her brother, Ryu. Will Gokuu be able to protect Yoshiko from her step father's soldiers long enough to find her brother?
Meanwhile Ryu, the unfortunate subject of a military experiment gone bad, leaves a trail of bodies behind him and has no intention of being found or saved by anyone. Will Gokuu have to kill the man he is supposed to save? Will even his omniscient cybernetic eye and sceptre be enough to help him defeat this indestructible killing machine?”
These two stories, despite looking basic on the surface, have some depth to them. There’s intrigue, deception, cybernetic modification, love, and a smattering of other things. I think there’s moments where these stories trade spectacle for substance (Watch the fist few minutes of the first OVA to see my point), but more often than not these OVAs know how to balance these two components.
Setting
Like it says in the story for the first OVA, Goku - Midnight Eye takes place in a futuristic Tokyo. A futuristic version of one of Japan’s most iconic cities has been done numerous times in Anime, but this version feels a little different (At least for me). It’s bleak, oppressive, sleazy, and there’s this “Hey, something okay might happen to ya, but I’m gonna bitchslap it out of your hands” kind of feeling. It’s very reminiscent of Los Angeles from Blade Runner, and Neo-Tokyo from Bubblegum Crisis.
Characters
Like I said in the story & setting, the character feels very much like those you’d find in a Film-Noir, and with good reason. There’s a distinct aura of tragedy that seems to surround everyone, which already adds to the oppressive environment that these two OVAs take place in. Sure, everybody might have more hopeful (I’m using that last word rather loosely) moments, the dark nature of Goku’s world crushes those moments, and everybody falls right back into their depressing shell.
Animation
These OVAs were directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who’s appeared on my blog a couple times now. His visual style (Look in the “Setting” portion above) is very distinct, and this ties into the animation. Things are very slow paced, very methodical, and very distinct. When the action picks up, however, the pace is sped up a bit, allowing for some fast paced fight scenes, along with some gruesome carnage.
Voice Acting
Although the copies I had were subbed only, when it came out on VHS in the states, it did have an English dub. I managed to find it over on youtube, and I took a quick listen to it. The voice acting is meh: there’s definitely some effort put into some of the character’s voices, but others just don’t quite have it.
Episodes & Episode Length
Goku - Midnight Eye is composed of two episodes, each of which run at about 50 minutes (Second episode runs close to 53 minutes). If you’d like to watch them (Especially if you’re a stickler for subtitles), then click on the links below:
Ep 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN0PtwkGHyU
Ep 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7vFx3_hGmo
Just be sure to have a bottle of whiskey by your side, and the lights as dim as the sunset on the horizon.
Availability & Pricing
Goku - Midnight Eye is an oddity when it comes to being available. Despite not being available on DVD in the United States (It only recently appeared on DVD over in Japan), the original tapes can still be found with some frequency on Amazon (Availability fluctuates between new & used). Pricing for new tapes can be incredibly reasonable: the lowest start at 3 to about 10 dollars, and the highest is a respectable 25 dollars (Although there is a box-set edition from 2001, with pricing for a new copy at nearly 100 dollars!). Pricing for used copes is also not bad (Although 40 dollars is a little extreme for a used VHS), but if you’re going to buy one, I highly suggest you buy a new tape instead of one that’s potentially damaged.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are (Since this was only released on VHS in the states, I doubt there was any extras).
General Impression & Rating
If you’re a fan of Film-Noir movies, give this one a go. The characters are serious minded, and they don’t fool around (Except with the ladies) in the slightest. You got dark but great visuals, a equally dark but intriguing and it’s surprisingly available despite being a VHS only release. Personally, this show is not my thing, but I understand the appeal of these OVAs, and I think there’s some good qualities to them. There’s still a problem or two, but nothing that really makes these movies an abomination in the world of anime.
Goku - Midnight Eye gets a 7 out of 10.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If you’d like to download this show (Subtitles Only), then check out the link below:
http://www.garoo9.com/elevator_kart/?s=goku+midnight+eye
On top of that, here’s some links to the anidb pages of both of these OVAs:
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1507
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1545
Monday, August 5, 2013
Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon Review
Hi there! The memorial for my Mom’s friend was this past Saturday, and she’s doing a little better. She still has some ways to go before she’s back to her normal self, but she’s alright at this moment.
You might recall my review of Call Me Tonight last October. It was a quirky one-shot movie, filled with just about as many faults as it does positives. Well, it turns out that it was part one of the 4-part “Pink Noise” series. Today’s review is part 2 of this series, and is another competitor is the long line of goofy shows/movies I’ve watched & reviewed. With this out of the way, let’s review part 2 of the “Pink Noise” series, Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon.
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“Hikaru transfers to a new private school, where he is confronted by the violent class bully, Gomi. As it turns out he is the son of the most influential man in town, and is used to get away with any atrocity. Luckily Hikaru is no ordinary student, but actually a highly trained Campus Special Investigator, sent to investigate the mysterious suicides of several students at this school. Something far more sinister than bullying seems to be happening in this town... Will Hikaru and his super bike Sparon be a match for this ominous threat?”
Like Call Me Tonight, Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon’s story is downright cheesy. Unlike the previously mentioned movie, this film’s story leans slightly more towards the serious side, and feels just a touch more edgy. I can go with this, as I enjoy a twist to the standard goofy story.
Setting
Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon’s setting is twofold. You have the school, surrounding city, etc. These areas all look & feel rather standard (Standard for the time, at least), but it’s the supernatural dimension in the last 10 minutes of the movie that stands out. It’s very psychedelic, creepy, and feels like something you’d look at and wander through in your nightmares. Nice!
Characters
The characters in this movie are practically like the characters from Call Me Tonight, in that they all fit a standard archetype. You’ve got the bully, you’ve got the damsel in distress/love interests (Watch the movie to see why), and the guardian/teacher. The only character that seems to have at least a little depth (On the surface, at least) is Hikaru. He’s sociable, but there’s a thin air of mystery that surrounds him. Despite that, none of the character feel unique or original (With maybe an exception for the villains), and nobody seems to break out of their mold.
Animation
The animation in Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon is pretty much on par with Call Me Tonight. It’s definitely a product of it’s time, but Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon seems to be much smoother, and is actually a little more pleasing to the eye. This helps the more fantastic locales in the movie, but otherwise stays basic.
Voice Acting
Since this was never released in the United States, this has no dub.
Episodes & Episode Length
Like Call Me Tonight, Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon is a one-shot movie. Running at 29 minutes & 12 seconds, this should be part of a Pink Noise viewing party, with some popcorn & toned down lights
Availability & Pricing
Since this was never released in the United States, I don’t know if it’s still available in Japan, and I don’t know how much it costs. If you’re looking to download this, click on the link below:
http://www.garoo9.com/elevator_kart/?p=2691
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon is a downright bizarre movie. I know I said that about Call Me Tonight, but in a weird way that movie was normal. This movie seems to revel in it’s weirdness, and doesn’t care what everybody else thinks about them. Personally, I can respect this, and because of that, I consider this to be better than Call Me Tonight, but not by much.
Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon gets a 7.4 out of 10.
See you all this Friday, when I’ll review one of the sleaziest shows I’ve ever seen (Considering that I reviewed Eiken not that long ago, that’s saying something). Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If you would like to watch this (Perhaps before you download it), then click on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFqYkPxsA8Y
You might recall my review of Call Me Tonight last October. It was a quirky one-shot movie, filled with just about as many faults as it does positives. Well, it turns out that it was part one of the 4-part “Pink Noise” series. Today’s review is part 2 of this series, and is another competitor is the long line of goofy shows/movies I’ve watched & reviewed. With this out of the way, let’s review part 2 of the “Pink Noise” series, Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon.
Story/Setup
Taken from the anidb page:
“Hikaru transfers to a new private school, where he is confronted by the violent class bully, Gomi. As it turns out he is the son of the most influential man in town, and is used to get away with any atrocity. Luckily Hikaru is no ordinary student, but actually a highly trained Campus Special Investigator, sent to investigate the mysterious suicides of several students at this school. Something far more sinister than bullying seems to be happening in this town... Will Hikaru and his super bike Sparon be a match for this ominous threat?”
Like Call Me Tonight, Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon’s story is downright cheesy. Unlike the previously mentioned movie, this film’s story leans slightly more towards the serious side, and feels just a touch more edgy. I can go with this, as I enjoy a twist to the standard goofy story.
Setting
Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon’s setting is twofold. You have the school, surrounding city, etc. These areas all look & feel rather standard (Standard for the time, at least), but it’s the supernatural dimension in the last 10 minutes of the movie that stands out. It’s very psychedelic, creepy, and feels like something you’d look at and wander through in your nightmares. Nice!
Characters
The characters in this movie are practically like the characters from Call Me Tonight, in that they all fit a standard archetype. You’ve got the bully, you’ve got the damsel in distress/love interests (Watch the movie to see why), and the guardian/teacher. The only character that seems to have at least a little depth (On the surface, at least) is Hikaru. He’s sociable, but there’s a thin air of mystery that surrounds him. Despite that, none of the character feel unique or original (With maybe an exception for the villains), and nobody seems to break out of their mold.
Animation
The animation in Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon is pretty much on par with Call Me Tonight. It’s definitely a product of it’s time, but Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon seems to be much smoother, and is actually a little more pleasing to the eye. This helps the more fantastic locales in the movie, but otherwise stays basic.
Voice Acting
Since this was never released in the United States, this has no dub.
Episodes & Episode Length
Like Call Me Tonight, Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon is a one-shot movie. Running at 29 minutes & 12 seconds, this should be part of a Pink Noise viewing party, with some popcorn & toned down lights
Availability & Pricing
Since this was never released in the United States, I don’t know if it’s still available in Japan, and I don’t know how much it costs. If you’re looking to download this, click on the link below:
http://www.garoo9.com/elevator_kart/?p=2691
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
General Impression & Rating
Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon is a downright bizarre movie. I know I said that about Call Me Tonight, but in a weird way that movie was normal. This movie seems to revel in it’s weirdness, and doesn’t care what everybody else thinks about them. Personally, I can respect this, and because of that, I consider this to be better than Call Me Tonight, but not by much.
Gakuen Tokusou Hikaruon gets a 7.4 out of 10.
See you all this Friday, when I’ll review one of the sleaziest shows I’ve ever seen (Considering that I reviewed Eiken not that long ago, that’s saying something). Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If you would like to watch this (Perhaps before you download it), then click on the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFqYkPxsA8Y
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture Review
Well guys, this is it. The last Fatal Fury movie. I’m pumped about this review, and I hope you are too. With that out of the way, let’s look at the last Fatal Fury movie, a.k.a. The Motion Picture (More on this towards the end).
BTW, sorry for posting this a day late. I went over to a friends house for a picnic at Saratoga Park. I just got home a couple minutes ago, but I'm still awake enough to post this. Enjoy!
Story/Setup
Unlike the first two movies, Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture features an original story (As well as some new characters). Normally I don’t spoil the whole story of a movie/show, but with how much is in the movie, I’m making this rare exception. Read on, and watch out for spoilers:
“While exploring a cavern in Egypt, Cheng Sinzan discovers a leg armor plate said to be one of six pieces of the Armor of Mars. Cheng is defeated by Laocorn Gaudeamus and his three henchmen before Laocorn attaches the part to his body and destroys the cavern. In Japan, Joe Higashi makes his triumphant return into the ring by defeating Thai champion Hwa Jai after the events of Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle. Joe reunites with Terry and Andy Bogard, as well as Mai Shiranui. While being chased by a masked assailant, Sulia Gaudeamus - Laocorn's sister - befriends Terry. After Big Bear is knocked unconscious by the assailant, Kim Kaphwan defeats him, exposing the assailant as Cheng. Sulia reveals that she has searched for Terry since his battle with Krauser. Sulia, Terry, Andy, Mai and Joe travel to Rhodes, where Sulia reveals that she is a descendent of Gaudeamus, a powerful warrior whose armor drew fear among Alexander the Great. One night, Alexander killed Gaudeamus, but the armor gained life after his death, and reincarnated himself as Mars before destroying a city; it was eventually defeated by four warriors. To prevent Mars from destroying cities again, the armor was broken up and hidden in different places around the world. On the island, the five discover a series of cave paintings that indicate that martial arts moves such as Tung Fu Rue's Hurricane Punch and Krauser's Blitz Ball were influenced by Gaudeamus. Sulia reveals that she possesses healing powers due to her heritage and shares a mental bond with Laocorn. After Sulia discovers the locations of two of the three remaining armor pieces, the group divides into two subgroups in an attempt to find them.
While searching for the breast plate in Turkey, Terry, Joe and Sulia discover an ancient chamber, which was unearthed in the police station's destruction. The three discover that the breast plate is in Stroheim Castle, Krauser's former home. Joe is sent to Baghdad to rendezvous with Andy and Mai. Having realized that the breast plate is in Stroheim Castle in Germany, Terry and Sulia travel to the castle, but are confronted by Laocorn's henchman Jamin. Terry is severely injured after using the Power Geyser attack to escape. At the castle, Panni, Laocorn's henchwoman, defeats Krauser's former henchman Laurence Blood and acquires the breast plate from the castle. In Iraq, Andy and Mai find out that the site of the leg armor was raided when the Mongolians sacked Baghdad and brought their loot back to China. They figure that Tung Fu Rue knew the location of the armor piece before he died, and their next lead would be Tung's old friend Jubei Yamada.
Sulia heals Terry using part of her life force. Terry, hears from Sulia that her and Laocorn's father was leading an expedition to find the Armor of Mars after discovering the first piece - the right gauntlet. Then one day, a business partner killed the twins' father. After Laocorn was shot by the murderer, he used the armor to kill the murderer. Since then, Laocorn developed an insatiable desire to complete the armor. Hearing the story, Terry vows to fight to protect Sulia from any pain or suffering. In Japan, Andy and Mai go to Duck King's nightclub, where they have arranged to meet with Jubei. As Jubei gives Andy the location of the leg armor, Andy confronts Geese Howard's staff-wielding henchman Billy Kane, but is interrupted by the appearance of Laocorn's third henchman, Hauer. After unsuccessfully trying to seduce and bring Mai to his side, Hauer destroys the nightclub. The next day, Billy reports the confrontation to Geese. Geese, however, dismisses it as trivial information. In China, Andy retrieves the leg armor when he and Mai are attacked by Hauer, who defeats them and steals the armor piece. The five regroup in Rhodes, where Sulia tells them that Laocorn has not found the crown - the sixth armor piece. They discover a secret chamber behind the cave paintings and use Sulia's pendant to reveal the Dead Sea in Israel as the location of the final piece.
In Jerusalem, while Andy is away practicing his techniques, Terry and Joe are knocked unconscious while Mai and Sulia are cornered by Laocorn and his henchmen. Sulia agrees to go with her twin brother if he promises not to harm her friends. Laocorn, Sulia and Jamin flee, but Hauer and Panni are easily defeated by Andy and Mai. The heroes head for the Dead Sea, where Laocorn raises an ancient temple. While Andy, Joe and Mai confront an army of Laocorn's masked thugs at the temple, Terry runs toward the entrance and defeats Jamin with his Burning Knuckle technique. He explains that he sees the bond between Terry and Sulia, and that Terry is the only one who can save her and Laocorn.
Laocorn finds the armor's crown, mounted on a statue of Mars. Over Sulia and Terry's objections, Laocorn crowns himself - causing the armor to encase him in vermeil and augment all of his powers and abilities. Andy, Joe and Mai join in the fight, but are overpowered by Laocorn's newly-acquired powers. Then, just when Laocorn is about to finish off the heroes, Sulia stabs her own arm to injure Laocorn. As his abilities have become more powerful, so has his mental bond with his sister. Sulia stabs herself in the heart, causing more pain to Laocorn. Before succumbing to her wounds, Sulia tells Terry to strike Laocorn's breast plate. Terry uses his Burning Knuckle technique to defeat Laocorn and reduce his armor to four coins. The coins assimilate into the statue of Mars, bringing it to life. Realizing that the armor was using him to bring Mars back to life, Laocorn sacrifices himself to save Mai. Terry absorbs the last of Sulia's lifeforce, combining it with his skills to attack Mars head-on. Terry uses the Buster Wolf technique to defeat Mars and he, Mai, Andy and Joe escape the temple. The film ends with Terry throwing his hat in silence.”
I should say that while this story does look big & complex, it’s not really a deep story. It tries to be deep & serious, but it often falls onto it’s face.
Setting
An improvement in Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture is the setting. Whereas the first two movies (More so with the first movie, not as much with the second one) stayed within a urban environment, this film still has that, but it also incorporates other places as well. Just to name a few, the movie goes to Egypt, Rhodes, and Turkey. Each of these places (The ones mentioned & not mentioned) have their own look & feel to them, but they aren’t so over-the-top that they aren’t believable (Maybe one locale is a little goofy, but not terribly so).
Characters
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture’s biggest strength & weakness is the characters. The movie’s strength in this regard, is in how many characters it has. 24 is the number of characters that appear in this movie, which is much greater than the previous 2 films (The New Battle had 13, while Legend of the Hungry Wolf). The reason that the characters are also this movie’s weakness is two-fold: a majority of the characters is this movie are given either brief cameos, or they act as silent window dressing. Secondly, the character act & feel as if they were from the first two movies, but there are attempts to break out of their molds (Whether they succeed or fail is up to the viewer).
Animation
See the review for The New Battle for details.
Voice Acting
See the Legend of the Hungry Wolf review for details.
Episodes & Episode Length
As with Legend of the Hungry Wolf & The New Battle, The Motion Picture is.....well, a motion picture. This movie is the longest of the three films, clocking in at a whopping hour and 35 minutes. It’s strange that this film is the longest, considering how basic the story is. Be sure to clear out a good part of your afternoon if you want to watch this.
Availability & Pricing
Like The New Battle, FF: TMP is a difficult but possible movie to find. As with TNB, there’s only two printings of this movie: a tape from 1999, and a DVD from around the same time. The tape is surprisingly cheap, as the lone new copy goes for about 19 dollars, and used start at $3.33. The DVD print is a little more expensive: new copies start at 25 dollars, and the used copies being at 14 dollars. Although it’s more expensive, I suggest you go for the DVD edition (New or used doesn’t matter), as there are more copies of that version than the VHS release.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
Okay, let’s get something out of the way. Like it says at the beginning, this is the last of the Fatal Fury movies. With a title like “The Motion Picture”, you expect that this would be the first in the series. Due to the order in which they came out, this caused some confusion back in the day, and still confuses some people today. It’s such an odd decision, I’ll still scratching my head as I’m typing this (Don’t ask how I’m doing this).
Next up is the ending theme. There’s actually two different versions to this, one of which was for the Japanese edition, and one for the North American edition. The Japanese edition was titled Yoake no Legend (Translated: Legend of Dawn) and played as follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvCO4R5dDzs
With the original Japanese voice, the song sounds a little bit on the serious side. The North American release, however, has a different tone to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9ROmtU3B20
Although the instrumentation is exactly the same as the Japanese edition, it’s due to the singing voice of Warren Stanyer that changes the tone of the song almost completely. Instead of being a serious song, this sounds like a cheesy sports anthem from the 80s, rather than a serious fight song. It’s still fun to listen to, and I guarantee that you’ll laugh out loud at least once or twice.
General Impression & Rating
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture is easily the best of the 3 movies. It still has some of the flaws of the previous two films, but they seem to be mitigated by the improvements of this feature. An expanded cast & setting really improve things, and some of the positive from the first movies add to what was improved upon in this one. It’s still not an uber-amazing film, but it’s definitely a step-up from the competition.
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture gets a 7 to 7.5 out of 10.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If you would like to know more about the Fatal Fury series in general, click on the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_Fury_%28series%29
Also, if you want to watch the movie, then click the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5B38EFFE776340EC
BTW, sorry for posting this a day late. I went over to a friends house for a picnic at Saratoga Park. I just got home a couple minutes ago, but I'm still awake enough to post this. Enjoy!
Story/Setup
Unlike the first two movies, Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture features an original story (As well as some new characters). Normally I don’t spoil the whole story of a movie/show, but with how much is in the movie, I’m making this rare exception. Read on, and watch out for spoilers:
“While exploring a cavern in Egypt, Cheng Sinzan discovers a leg armor plate said to be one of six pieces of the Armor of Mars. Cheng is defeated by Laocorn Gaudeamus and his three henchmen before Laocorn attaches the part to his body and destroys the cavern. In Japan, Joe Higashi makes his triumphant return into the ring by defeating Thai champion Hwa Jai after the events of Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle. Joe reunites with Terry and Andy Bogard, as well as Mai Shiranui. While being chased by a masked assailant, Sulia Gaudeamus - Laocorn's sister - befriends Terry. After Big Bear is knocked unconscious by the assailant, Kim Kaphwan defeats him, exposing the assailant as Cheng. Sulia reveals that she has searched for Terry since his battle with Krauser. Sulia, Terry, Andy, Mai and Joe travel to Rhodes, where Sulia reveals that she is a descendent of Gaudeamus, a powerful warrior whose armor drew fear among Alexander the Great. One night, Alexander killed Gaudeamus, but the armor gained life after his death, and reincarnated himself as Mars before destroying a city; it was eventually defeated by four warriors. To prevent Mars from destroying cities again, the armor was broken up and hidden in different places around the world. On the island, the five discover a series of cave paintings that indicate that martial arts moves such as Tung Fu Rue's Hurricane Punch and Krauser's Blitz Ball were influenced by Gaudeamus. Sulia reveals that she possesses healing powers due to her heritage and shares a mental bond with Laocorn. After Sulia discovers the locations of two of the three remaining armor pieces, the group divides into two subgroups in an attempt to find them.
While searching for the breast plate in Turkey, Terry, Joe and Sulia discover an ancient chamber, which was unearthed in the police station's destruction. The three discover that the breast plate is in Stroheim Castle, Krauser's former home. Joe is sent to Baghdad to rendezvous with Andy and Mai. Having realized that the breast plate is in Stroheim Castle in Germany, Terry and Sulia travel to the castle, but are confronted by Laocorn's henchman Jamin. Terry is severely injured after using the Power Geyser attack to escape. At the castle, Panni, Laocorn's henchwoman, defeats Krauser's former henchman Laurence Blood and acquires the breast plate from the castle. In Iraq, Andy and Mai find out that the site of the leg armor was raided when the Mongolians sacked Baghdad and brought their loot back to China. They figure that Tung Fu Rue knew the location of the armor piece before he died, and their next lead would be Tung's old friend Jubei Yamada.
Sulia heals Terry using part of her life force. Terry, hears from Sulia that her and Laocorn's father was leading an expedition to find the Armor of Mars after discovering the first piece - the right gauntlet. Then one day, a business partner killed the twins' father. After Laocorn was shot by the murderer, he used the armor to kill the murderer. Since then, Laocorn developed an insatiable desire to complete the armor. Hearing the story, Terry vows to fight to protect Sulia from any pain or suffering. In Japan, Andy and Mai go to Duck King's nightclub, where they have arranged to meet with Jubei. As Jubei gives Andy the location of the leg armor, Andy confronts Geese Howard's staff-wielding henchman Billy Kane, but is interrupted by the appearance of Laocorn's third henchman, Hauer. After unsuccessfully trying to seduce and bring Mai to his side, Hauer destroys the nightclub. The next day, Billy reports the confrontation to Geese. Geese, however, dismisses it as trivial information. In China, Andy retrieves the leg armor when he and Mai are attacked by Hauer, who defeats them and steals the armor piece. The five regroup in Rhodes, where Sulia tells them that Laocorn has not found the crown - the sixth armor piece. They discover a secret chamber behind the cave paintings and use Sulia's pendant to reveal the Dead Sea in Israel as the location of the final piece.
In Jerusalem, while Andy is away practicing his techniques, Terry and Joe are knocked unconscious while Mai and Sulia are cornered by Laocorn and his henchmen. Sulia agrees to go with her twin brother if he promises not to harm her friends. Laocorn, Sulia and Jamin flee, but Hauer and Panni are easily defeated by Andy and Mai. The heroes head for the Dead Sea, where Laocorn raises an ancient temple. While Andy, Joe and Mai confront an army of Laocorn's masked thugs at the temple, Terry runs toward the entrance and defeats Jamin with his Burning Knuckle technique. He explains that he sees the bond between Terry and Sulia, and that Terry is the only one who can save her and Laocorn.
Laocorn finds the armor's crown, mounted on a statue of Mars. Over Sulia and Terry's objections, Laocorn crowns himself - causing the armor to encase him in vermeil and augment all of his powers and abilities. Andy, Joe and Mai join in the fight, but are overpowered by Laocorn's newly-acquired powers. Then, just when Laocorn is about to finish off the heroes, Sulia stabs her own arm to injure Laocorn. As his abilities have become more powerful, so has his mental bond with his sister. Sulia stabs herself in the heart, causing more pain to Laocorn. Before succumbing to her wounds, Sulia tells Terry to strike Laocorn's breast plate. Terry uses his Burning Knuckle technique to defeat Laocorn and reduce his armor to four coins. The coins assimilate into the statue of Mars, bringing it to life. Realizing that the armor was using him to bring Mars back to life, Laocorn sacrifices himself to save Mai. Terry absorbs the last of Sulia's lifeforce, combining it with his skills to attack Mars head-on. Terry uses the Buster Wolf technique to defeat Mars and he, Mai, Andy and Joe escape the temple. The film ends with Terry throwing his hat in silence.”
I should say that while this story does look big & complex, it’s not really a deep story. It tries to be deep & serious, but it often falls onto it’s face.
Setting
An improvement in Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture is the setting. Whereas the first two movies (More so with the first movie, not as much with the second one) stayed within a urban environment, this film still has that, but it also incorporates other places as well. Just to name a few, the movie goes to Egypt, Rhodes, and Turkey. Each of these places (The ones mentioned & not mentioned) have their own look & feel to them, but they aren’t so over-the-top that they aren’t believable (Maybe one locale is a little goofy, but not terribly so).
Characters
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture’s biggest strength & weakness is the characters. The movie’s strength in this regard, is in how many characters it has. 24 is the number of characters that appear in this movie, which is much greater than the previous 2 films (The New Battle had 13, while Legend of the Hungry Wolf). The reason that the characters are also this movie’s weakness is two-fold: a majority of the characters is this movie are given either brief cameos, or they act as silent window dressing. Secondly, the character act & feel as if they were from the first two movies, but there are attempts to break out of their molds (Whether they succeed or fail is up to the viewer).
Animation
See the review for The New Battle for details.
Voice Acting
See the Legend of the Hungry Wolf review for details.
Episodes & Episode Length
As with Legend of the Hungry Wolf & The New Battle, The Motion Picture is.....well, a motion picture. This movie is the longest of the three films, clocking in at a whopping hour and 35 minutes. It’s strange that this film is the longest, considering how basic the story is. Be sure to clear out a good part of your afternoon if you want to watch this.
Availability & Pricing
Like The New Battle, FF: TMP is a difficult but possible movie to find. As with TNB, there’s only two printings of this movie: a tape from 1999, and a DVD from around the same time. The tape is surprisingly cheap, as the lone new copy goes for about 19 dollars, and used start at $3.33. The DVD print is a little more expensive: new copies start at 25 dollars, and the used copies being at 14 dollars. Although it’s more expensive, I suggest you go for the DVD edition (New or used doesn’t matter), as there are more copies of that version than the VHS release.
Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.
Okay, let’s get something out of the way. Like it says at the beginning, this is the last of the Fatal Fury movies. With a title like “The Motion Picture”, you expect that this would be the first in the series. Due to the order in which they came out, this caused some confusion back in the day, and still confuses some people today. It’s such an odd decision, I’ll still scratching my head as I’m typing this (Don’t ask how I’m doing this).
Next up is the ending theme. There’s actually two different versions to this, one of which was for the Japanese edition, and one for the North American edition. The Japanese edition was titled Yoake no Legend (Translated: Legend of Dawn) and played as follows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvCO4R5dDzs
With the original Japanese voice, the song sounds a little bit on the serious side. The North American release, however, has a different tone to it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9ROmtU3B20
Although the instrumentation is exactly the same as the Japanese edition, it’s due to the singing voice of Warren Stanyer that changes the tone of the song almost completely. Instead of being a serious song, this sounds like a cheesy sports anthem from the 80s, rather than a serious fight song. It’s still fun to listen to, and I guarantee that you’ll laugh out loud at least once or twice.
General Impression & Rating
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture is easily the best of the 3 movies. It still has some of the flaws of the previous two films, but they seem to be mitigated by the improvements of this feature. An expanded cast & setting really improve things, and some of the positive from the first movies add to what was improved upon in this one. It’s still not an uber-amazing film, but it’s definitely a step-up from the competition.
Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture gets a 7 to 7.5 out of 10.
See you all next week. Until then, stay Otaku!
***
If you would like to know more about the Fatal Fury series in general, click on the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_Fury_%28series%29
Also, if you want to watch the movie, then click the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5B38EFFE776340EC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)