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Mnemosyne 2

post from We Are Mizuho! on 05 April 2008 07:18:32 PM. © We Are Mizuho!

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Mnemosyne 1

post from We Are Mizuho! on 05 April 2008 07:17:45 PM. © We Are Mizuho!

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Blassreiter Episode 1 - Prelude to Despair

post from Cinnamon Ass on 05 April 2008 06:09:00 PM. © Cinnamon Ass

OP - none. I cannot wait to see what horrors Gonzo unleash upon the audience with one.

ED - I don’t remember what it was, I was mostly sighing with sweet, sweet relief that the episode was over.

Do I have to recap the plot? Do I really? This was no prelude to despair, this was just up front despair. There are children in Somalia crying because this show has been made. Every time you watch Blassreiter, an angel will weep for your soul.

Anyway, Germany, a land where every important building apparently looks like a church according to this show. Gerd Frentzen is a top motorbike racer, but after a corpse mysteriously re-animates and goes on a killing spree on the track he wipes out and his legs are paralyzed, much to the consternation of his friend Hermann. His life starts to fall apart - his girlfriend dumps him, his co-workers abandon him, it’s all so shitty he starts laughing until he cries. However, a mysterious, inappropriately dressed doctor gifts him with a magic aspirin that turns him into a Demoniac, an amazing CG fighting man who ends up killing the evil re-animated corpse that took away his mobility. There’s a secret organisation that Hermann belongs to that’s been chasing down these monsters too, and a mysterious bishounen who stands on clifftops and doesn’t really do very much, but they’re pretty much incidental.

Ladies and gentleman, we have a new contender for the worst first episode I have blogged. Move over Hanaukyou Maid Tai La Verite, for Blassreiter has come to steal your stupid frilly maid outfit, turn it into CG and stick it on a German motorbike.

I don’t have anything against the use of CG in anime as long as it’s done well. Blassreiter is no Macross Frontier, but some of the CG work here is actually relatively competent. It’s a shame, however, that all the rest of the animation is woefully inept - there’s a scene where someone kicks a chair over in about three frames of animation that is funnier than pretty much anything in Tower of Druaga. Everything else is just massive-faced people with weird clothes on flapping their lips at each other with absolutely no characterisation except for Gerd and his overdone melodrama making a mockery of paralysis sufferers everywhere. The dialogue is laughable (”they say that he was a racer gifted with talent by God!”. Of COURSE they do.), the acting generally flat, the music totally forgettable… Blassreiter is painfully, painfully bad. I spent today trying to unblock my kitchen sink with my arm stuck in gunk, and THAT was preferable to watching Blassreiter.

Avoid, people. Avoid at all costs. I know it’s free and legal, but please please PLEASE don’t watch this show, it’s an abomination upon this planet sent by Beelzebub and his demonic hordes to feast upon the retinas and braincells of the righteous. I just don’t know why anyone thought this was worth throwing any cash at in the first place…

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http://www.ass-no-ryu.com/animeblog/?p=1088

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Theres more to Tower of Druaga 01 than meets the
eye

post from Kurogane's Anime Blog on 05 April 2008 04:15:14 PM. © Kurogane's Anime Blog

Thanks to heads up from a few people, I discovered that there’s a ura version of it as well. It’s basically set in the same time, only from a different point of view, and more of the characters are introduced, including Minorin’s Kooba, where she seems to be playing the cute but sharp “tsukkomi” character [...]

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http://kurogane.animeblogger.net/2008/04/06/theres-more-to-tower-of-druaga-01-tha
n-meets-the-eye/

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spring break

post from Derailed by Darry on 05 April 2008 03:00:00 PM. © Derailed by Darry

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http://anime.miao.us/archives/2008/04/05/1361/

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Kurenai: Speed Grapher Minus 10 Years

post from Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts on 05 April 2008 01:46:23 PM. © Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

The rather unique OP sequence suggested that it would be a slice of life series set in a lodging house not unlike that of Love Hina. But the moment Kurenai began, it was quite apparent that the show would be extremely similar to Speed Grapher. Almost the same plot actually.Ultra-rich young girl locked up deprived [...]

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http://www.riuva.com/?p=1035

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The Tower of Druaga ~The Aegis of Uruk~ Episode 1
- The Great Tower of Druaga

post from Cinnamon Ass on 05 April 2008 04:45:00 AM. © Cinnamon Ass

OP - Swinging (Muramasa) - alarm bells! Ska opening, characters in school uniforms… it’s nicely done (although almost impossible to actually read any of the credits without freeze-framing) even if it wasn’t really what I was looking for… *sigh*

ED - Touchousha-tachi (Kenn) - this reminds me how nice the background art for the show is, which is a good thing because the song is completely uninteresting. Seiyuu vocals ahoy!

As everyone on the Internet probably knows by now, this is a parody episode. Jil, the main character, gets knocked out in a fight in the insidious Tower of Druaga, and whilst unconscious dreams a stereotypical adventure story parodying not only genre cliches but games and anime in the process. When he wakes up, he’s on the run from evil nasties.

I’m going to be the party pooper on this one - I am bitterly, bitterly disappointed with Tower of Druaga. Anyone else remember seeing the first piece of artwork for this show (see it here, it’s the top left piece of art)? I remember seeing that and the first trailer for the show and thinking it was going to be an artistically interesting serious fantasy. Instead, we get jokes being run into the ground in 20 minutes (the death captions), art that looks as dull as virtually every Gonzo show ever (the overall “look” of the show is exactly like Trinity Blood)… basically, just a total let down for me.

I’m not really the best person to comment on Druaga, as I despise virtually all anime comedy and parody only carries you so far (I laughed twice). I can’t really tell you if it’s a good show or not - I understand there’s a so-called ura episode that tells the story from the perspective of the other party members while Jil is unconscious which is probably more indicative of the actual show content, but to be perfectly honest I just don’t care any more and I certainly won’t be watching any more of this show. What a shame.

Perhaps the universe will balance out and somehow turn Blassreiter into a kickass action show to compensate me (because of course my anime viewing habits are the most important in the world). Damn you, Gonzo!

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http://www.ass-no-ryu.com/animeblog/?p=1087

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[Hynavian] If RIUVASIANS were Claymores

post from Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts on 05 April 2008 04:09:28 AM. © Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts

In a week, I chance upon Ascaloth not once, but twice. I highly suspect that he’s the henchman of Tjhan for he constantly reminded me that I haven’t been writing an article for a long time. On reflection, indeed, it has been some time since I’ve posted an article, must have been school! The lecturers [...]

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http://www.riuva.com/?p=943

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Shakugan no Shana Second Review

Shakugan no Shana’s second season has finished up, and I’m going to assume there will be at least another sequel after this. With this assumption, I can say that I definitely enjoyed the second season more than the first. However, it should be noted that while Shakugan no Shana Second builds effectively on [...]

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/seaslugteam/~3/264391473/

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