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Akira: the Special Edtion DVD, is a restored classic of the movie Akira. If you live in America, that is probably the only version of the movie you will ever see. It was originally made in the 80's and it pioneered a lot of themes and underlying styles later found all throughout anime. Akira was a revolution in animation and it should be respected as such.
Personally, the plot of Akira I was not that thrilled with. I enjoyed the movie, if fact I own it. The plot just seemed a little chessy, but hey...it was the eighties. The story revolves around a boy named Kaneda, and his friend-becomes-enemy, Tetsuo. Tetsuo gains mystical powers which include telekinesis (kinda cheesy), and he goes on a rampage. Kaneda is the one who wantes to stop him, because it was prety much his fault he got the powers in the first place.
The action is really cool and making music videos to it is fun. Akira is worth watching because of its exceptional action sequences and interesting special effects. This movie was a pioneer, and it deserves respect. I like everything about it, excpet the plot is a little cheesy I think. The soundtrack and animation are both awesome. Check it out if you have the time.
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We wrote a review for this, but it dissapeared and we're too lazy to write it again for the time being.
Cowboy Bebop follows the story of four bounty hunters living in a spaceship called the Bebop. Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed all enhabit the Bebop, but they all seem to have different ideas about what working together really means.
Spike is the lead character, the typical anime hotheaded bounty hunter who always survives the fight. What's different about Spike than other similar anime characters, such as Gene Starwind (Outlaw Star), is that he has lost a love from long ago and he wants ot get her back. His fighting style is "like water" and he always packs a pistol with him for when things get rough and pilots a small spaceship called the Swordfish II. He used to be in the Red Dragon crim syndicate, basically a space mafia, but he escaped somehow and he had many regrets that he needs to atone for in his time.
Jet is the ex-cop, responsible one who owns the Bebop. He has a robotic arm that he lost on the job many years ago and despite the technology to regrow it, he remains with his robotic prosthesis. He backs Spike up when needed with his private space vessel called the Hammerhead and carries the same type of pistol that Spike does. Although they right a lot, Spike and Jet do like working together and are actually good friends. Their friendship gets severely challenged in the show a few times and they always seem to patch it up. The one character Jet cannot stand is Faye Valentine, she is unwelcome on his ship in his opinion and he dislikes her because shes a walking liability.
Faye Valentine is a beautiful compulsive gambler. As soon as she makes any money from chasing down a bounty head, she throws it away at the casino. She pilots a small personal ship too with missile launchers and lifting arms. Faye is obsessed with money and she'll do anything to get it. Animerica magazine's poll said she was voted the "hottest" anime babe of them all, but nobody in the show really acknowledges her beauty at all; there aren't even any perverse jokes about her, how untypical of anime.
Throughout the show, it is not known that Edward is actually a girl. She lived on Earth and was a hacker known as Radical Edward, but now she's one of the members of Bebop. She researches the internet mainly, because she has no combat capability at all. She is sort of a comic relief, much like Krillin (Dragonball, Dragonbal Z, Dragonball GT).
One thing best noted about Cowboy Bebop is the music; the soundtrack is incredible. It contains lots of jazz and blues and some of that southern guitar twang. English vocals on most of the songs help its popularity here very much so. Songs from it are all over the internet. In Cowboy Bebop's 26 episodes, it uses a few favorite songs over and over, but for the most part, every episode contains a new piece of music somewhere.
Cowboy Bebop is an excellent anime and it is good for all ages really. There is no nudity or sex, and no profane language. It is one of those shows that makes you laugh and later makes you cry, Cowboy Bebop is one of the best animes of all time.
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Neon Genesis Evangelion is not your run-of-the-mill anime; it deals with much deeper topics and handles psychological issues never touched before by any anime I have ever seen. The giant robots and the wonderful action is just a side bonus to the wonderful plotline, which is more complicated than any story I have ever heard. Also, severe references to Christianity (such as in the title) stick out and give the series a flare of western religion ,which separated Evangelion from any other anime.
The series initially draws you in with a normal anime setting, but then gets progressively weirder as the series gets closer and closer to its end, which consists of two movies, Death and Rebirth and End of Evangelion. The first of these two movies is a re-hash of previous scenes within the series with some additional scenes added, which were originally cut from the TV series release. The last movie, nicknamed End of Eva, is considered by many anime fans to be the greatest anime movie ever made (take THAT Akira!).
Although the plot centers around Shinji Ikari, the pilot of the experimental new biomechanical giant robot called Evangelion Unit 01, the plot is truly about three different people with parental problems as children and they each develop different defense mechanisms to deal with their pain. This complex psychological character study is the personal plot of the series, but there are many other plotlines which tickle the taste buds of anyone who likes conspiracy plots and apocalyptic endings which can be interpreted an inner-self cataclysm.
This anime doesnt need a review. I you have seen it, you know what I am talking about. If you havent seen it, you must if you intend to call yourself a true Otaku.
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Golden Boy is for 16+ for a reason. This possibly the most provocative anime ever created, and it's considered a COMEDY! Golden Boy is basically just Ranma 1/2 loaded with fan service and hentai! Sounds like a treat? If you're into that kind of thing, then this is the best anime ever. If you're not... then it's funny but the weird sexual stuff will just make you feel awkward as you watch it wondering what you're doing there.
Only 6 standard 25 minute episodes of Golden Boy exist as an anime (there are much more comics, however). For an adolescent young male into anime, you've hit the jackpot. The jokes are very funny, but they all have to do directly with sex and perversion. I laughed so hard I fell off my couch while watching. In conlclusion, this anime is great... but you better not bring your kids.
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Ranma 1/2 is Rumiko Takashi's best and is in my opinion, the funniest anime of all time. It follows a few main characters, some of which have a strange curse which turns them into them into animal versions of themselves. This one half of the conflicts in the show. The other half of the conflicts are about how every girl in the show likes Ranma, the main character, and all the other guys in the show like various girls who therefore, like Ranma.
The show begins in it's first season (out of six), with Ranma and his father coming home from a hard training mission in China (where they got the curse). Ranma's father wants him to marry one of Mr. Tendo's daughters and carry on the anything-goes martial arts dojo Ranma's father and Mr. Tendo own. Ranma does not want to marry, although all of the Tendo daughters are supoposedly good looking. All th Tendo daughters, Akane, Kasumi, and Nibiki, all seem sort of opposed to the idea. Akane draws the short straw (figuratively), and now is Ranma'a bide-to-be.
Ranma and Akane actually are in love throughout the show, but they never reveal themselves to anyone at all. This causes a lot of dramatic irony because we, as the audience, know about their feelings for each other. Numerous other characters appear and the guys all like Akane, and the girls all like Ranma. So now nobody can hook-up because nobody likes who likes them.
Ranma is know for the curse. Ranma's curse is that he will turn into a female version of himself whenever splashed with cold water, and then return only when splashed with hot water. ALmost everyone knows about Ranma's perdicament, except Kuno, a rival on Ranma's who's helplessly in love with both Akane and the female version of Ranma, called Ranma-chan.
This anime is wonderfully done, but the soundtrack is a little lacking in variety. It is mainly synthisized and is not very entertaining to listen to after the show has ended. The soundtrack is fine in the background of the show, but if you buy one of their CDs, you'll be sorry. Although the soundtrack is lousy, this anime is absolutely hilarious and I recommend it to everyone.
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