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28.3.14

Bleach - Demothis

Hello! Demothis here again. Due to the casual viewing nature of the other authors here at AHB, I will probably be reviewing almost all of the 50+ episode animes that are on this site.
Roxas tried and failed to watch at least up to the end of the first major arc in Bleach(1-63) within the span of about a month and only managed to get around 43 episodes in. I will now be reviewing it instead of him.

Bleach is one of the anime that are nicknamed, "The Big Three", although this is less true as of late due to the frozen state of the anime and the rather slow nature of the manga. The anime is currently sitting at 366 episodes and the manga is sitting at over 550 chapters.


Plot/Premise -/+
Ichigo Kurosaki is a regular high-school student aside from the fact that he can see spirits. One day his family is attacked and must become a soul reaper in order to save his family. The story follows his progression as a soul reaper trying to gain power in order to protect his friends.

Ichigo Kurosaki

The story when viewed at in chunks appears rather shallow and devoid of any actual plot. However, one must look upon the entire series to be able to understand what Bleach is about.

Characters -
Most of the characters can be seen as entirely throw away. There are maybe two dozen characters in the show that actually carry it. With some of those characters barely having a part.

Action Scenes +                         
The action scenes are simply outstanding. They are mostly predictable because Ichigo has the plot on his side, but they are very entertaining to watch. Even though you sort of know what is going to happen, it is the how that you should be concerned about.

fight animated GIF
Ichigo Vs. Ginjo

However, after a certain point Ichigo becomes nearly a fodder character until the final fight with the main antagonist, to which he then puts on his plot-armor again and becomes OP(overpowered). This leads to a bit of unbelievability due to how the power scaling works and how Ichigo seems to follow it very well.

Animation/Art +
The more recent episodes contain some of my favorite art, however the beginning has much lower quality art than what is seen today. This can be overlooked due to its age though. In some of the more recent episodes I feel that they do it perfectly. The full effect of the are comes into full view during the fight scenes no matter what part of the show you are at.

Ichigo vs Ginjo

Music +
The music is actually pretty good. I am not just talking about the soundtracks that they play during the show, but the opening and endings of each episode.

Overall +
I personally give this anime an 8.5/10. It is high-tiered in quality overall, but only low high-tiered. Its length, like all of The Big Three, causes some people to not even give it a chance. But I find that whenever I do get someone to watch one of them they are always surprised. It is by no means perfect, but it is also by no means bad either.

Next Time
IF there is a next time I will be reviewing either Naruto or Elfen Lied. In other news, I will be starting to post manga reviews every other Saturday starting with tomorrow. Until then, I look forward to next time!

19.3.14

Woodpecker - Top 10 Attack on Titan AMV's

Hey Everyone! Sorry it has been so long. I thought as a little treat, I would track down a list of my top 10 Attack on Titan AMV's for ya. Enjoy!

1. √Bestamvsofalltime ▪ Louder Than Words


2.  Shingeki no Kyojin AMV- To Lose Your Humanity (Watch in 720p)


3.  [進撃の巨人 Shingeki No Kyogin AMV] -Already Over-


4. [Attack on Titan AMV] Survive


5. AMV Attack on Titan - Protectors of the Earth - Shingeki no Kyojin


6. Shingeki No Kyojin AMV-[Attack on Titan] GLORY[AMV]


7. [ Shingeki No Kyojin ] - Heroes Falling AMV


8. [Attack on Titan AMV] - Path of Humanity (Les Friction)


9. Attack On Titan - AMV Anthem Of The Lonely (Nine Lashes)


10. Attack on Titan: RETRIBUTION Trailer (Shingeki no Kyojin)


Hope you all enjoyed my top 10 list of Attack on Titan AMV's! I'll catch ya next week with my review on Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East
This is Woodpecker, signing off.

- Woodpecker

14.3.14

One Piece - Demothis

Hello! Demothis here again. Today I will be doing my One Piece review that has been on standstill for about four weeks now.

Because of the sheer scale of One Piece parts of this review may feel incomplete or vague. It is on purpose. If I were to go anymore in depth than I am it will start getting into the territory of spoilers.

*Note that my review for this is most likely highly biased as this is my favorite anime by far.

Plot/Premise +
By this point One Piece has been going for about 15 years and most people who watch anime probably know what the premise of One Piece is by this point. There is a vast treasure hidden by the late pirate king Gol D. Roger. Moments before his execution he tells the audience that it is theirs if they just manage to find it. 20 years later people are still looking and it is thought to lie somewhere in the Grand Line, a notoriously dangerous strip of sea that is almost entirely unpredictable. The story follows Luffy as he gathers a crew and goes into the Grand Line in search of this legendary treasure.

Pre-Grand Line Crew

Now, despite the premise right off the bat seeming pretty shallow it leaves room for an immense world to be created and thus more underlying plot that is not just a part of the overall theme, but a story in itself. Though most of the story arcs follow certain guidelines, they are all pretty unique. Because of this it gives the story a lot of potential.

Characters +
Due to the long a drawn out nature of the show it gives it plenty time to go into all the important characters and give them enough depth to make you attached to them. It can help give you insight as to why certain characters act a certain way or to simply let you get to know them better.

Present Crew
Action Scenes +                      
Action scenes really depend on the individual. Personally I really like the fight scenes. Because of the unique abilities of the Devil Fruit users along with the power called Haki, the fights can be rather interesting to watch and see how the mixtures of powers comes out.

Punched Back Into The Manga

Unlike a lot of other anime, One Piece does really give the main crew OP(over-powered) status simply because they are the main characters. It is constantly stated withing the show that they are very weak compared to anyone who really matters in the world. Sure they win a lot, but they lose a ton as well.

Animation/Art -
Due to it being rather old when the story starts off with an art style that is very dated. This combined with the authors unique art style turns people away at first. It did the same for me. Many people don't seem to like how things are proportioned on the characters, the color variation, or even that it looks rather childish.

I still think it looks cool

Personally I like the art, but that was only after watching it and getting used to the art. Before I first started I didn't like the look of it. It didn't look refined. It just plain looked silly. I find that this is seems to be true for many people.

Music -
My grade for this is simply for the opening and closing themes. I find that they are a little too upbeat. I am normally a pretty optimistic guy, but even for me they feel too cheery. I like the songs themselves, it is just that most of the time they don't even reflect the mood of the show as a whole. It can bring you out of it when you have a cheery opening and then something super serious is going on in the show.

Sound Tracks +
The soundtracks are essentially perfect. They almost always do the scene that they are trying to augment justice and will almost never damage the scene and make it feel out of place.

Overall
I give it a personal 10/10 because in my eyes it is essentially perfect in everyway. Most of my negative notes were simply my initial reaction, but as I was eased into it over the course of watching it seven times I found that I really liked what I used to hate. Yes, even the music.

Next Time
I don't know, Bleach maybe? I'd be surprised if I even did one next week at this rate and when I finally did get around to it my mood might be favoring something else.

9.3.14

The Secret World of Arrietty [MOVIE] - Roxas

Hey guys, Roxas here. Things have been extremely slow here lately, and we would like to apologize for that. We should be back to posting as usual now.

Premise - Have you ever thought that there might be little people living inside your house? Things disappear and your sure that some tiny humans came in the night and stole them? Well I haven't, but I'm sure someone has. In the Secret World of Arrietty, little people do exist, and they sometimes live under human houses. These people call themselves borrowers, and they call us human beans. No, I am not joking. Arrietty is the focus of this story, a very tiny girl with very large dreams.It also about a boy named Sho, whose life is about to be changed by Arrietty.

Animation Style - I was very fond of this animation, as it gave a sense of awe as these small people walked through a normal human house. It had Studio Ghibli's timeless feel, while at the same time keeping its own unique flavor.

Ghibli does it again!


Plot - 
This is not an original story, and you'd know that if you've seen the movie "The Borrowers." I did not like that movie, so I was not expecting to like this one much better. While it does suffer problems, this retelling is much more enjoyable than the other movie. The story itself is very emotionally stirring, especially towards the end, but the plot can seem to drag at times. Perhaps this was due to the movie relying a little too much on its premise, and less on the story.

Characters - 
 Most of these characters were pretty solid, but while they were all good, none of them stood out as amazing. I will also note that the character Spiller in this movie felt a bit underdeveloped, and kind of rushed. The only thing that really stands out to me in this movie is Sho's relationship with Arrietty. Seeing them interact and talk with each other proved very interesting.

Music - The music was the best part of the movie. It not only set the scenes, it made the scenes. It captivates and excites. Even if you don't watch this movie, get the soundtrack. The song "Arriety's Song" had a beautiful tone that I kept listening to over and over again.

Verdict - The Secret World of Arriety, while not an amazing or groundbreaking movie, was certainly a joy to watch.
Score - 8.5/10

+ Amazing Music
+ Heartfelt Interactions
+ Funny Moments
+ Strong Ending
- Pacing Issues
- Average Characters 
- Spiller

5.3.14

Wolfe: Update

Wolfe reporting.

Sorry for the down-time, potential fan base, but I regret to inform you that a solution is not immediately able to be rendered. This blog is a dream of mine, a vision come to life through the work of my hands and those of my friends, my comrades. We started off weak, blind, and inexperienced, and have progressed a large amount over time. We have had differences and changes, meetings and ideas. Things have come to be while other things have faded away.

Ultimately, overflowed with both schoolwork and work, my amount of free time has dropped almost entirely, and that which has remained is there solely by eating into the hours I would normally use for sleep. Unable to post, I have not pushed my comrades to put effort in either, due to an old ideal of mine.

Is the blog dead? No, I don't think so. But posts will certainly be more challenging to come by unless I find a way to change my present situation.

If you want to keep up with me, I am maintaining the group's Tumblr (with occasional assistance from Baldr) at www.animeheadbrothers.tumblr.com.

With luck, I'll be able to post next Monday with my Code Geass R2 review.

Wolfe out.

10.2.14

Wolfe: Code Geass Characters (コードギアス反逆のキャラクターのルルーシュ)

Wolfe reporting.

Today I review the characters of Code Geass, through both seasons (though focusing on season one). The characters are really what made this anime so nice-- if the characters were poorly thought-through, the anime would've likely been the average terrible mecha anime.

If you haven't watched the anime yet, you might want to read my Code Geass review before reading this schpiel.

Major Characters:

Lelouch! Source.
Lelouch Lamperouge (ルルーシュ・ランペルージ). Lelouch (or Zero) is the main character of the anime. If I had to liken him to a character, it would be a combination of L and Light, though Lelouch seems far less childish. Lelouch is a very serious character, cold and calculating. He's able to be very charismatic and heroic through the manipulation of others. He's a genius, able to analytically analyze and take control of most any situation with only a heartbeat to draw breath. He's willing to sacrifice lives, moralities, friendships, relationships... anything and everything... to achieve his goal[s]. Everything I say might sound negative, but that's because he's not strictly speaking a "good guy", even if he's the protagonist. He's human, yet super-human. When he speaks, all listen; from him can come any miracle. He holds this ideal: to change a system, one must take it down and replace it, changing it from the outside.

Gotta love the cape. Source.
Lelouch, being the protagonist, gets some serious development. We watch as he goes from a schoolboy to a pseudo-god. His actions are rooted in his beliefs and in logic/reason, and he seemed very much like a real person. He was definitely not flawless, and occasionally hard to love, but I liked him.

In combat with L, he would win. Probably.

Suzaku is serious. Source.
Suzaku Kururugi (枢木 スザク). Suzaku played a huge role in the anime, usually as an antagonist. If I had to liken him to a character, by way of philosophy, he is like that of L [and not like Light], because he is unwilling to sacrifice morality to achieve result. Suzaku is a very intense character, quite an evolution from his carefree beginnings. Suzaku has potent innate abilities, both clever and quick on his feet in battle. He is intense and can be aggressive, as he is very passionate about his beliefs. He is completely unwilling to sacrifice others, even going out of his way to aid civilians in the battlefield... and yet has no issues with having his own life lost in battle, leading to an almost-suicidal passionate charge against whatever foe dares stand in his way. He is feared on the battlefield, and rightfully so! For both Knightmare and user are dangerous foes. He holds this ideal: to change a system, one must lead by example, changing it from the inside.
Moshi moshi? Source.

Suzaku gets some serious development. We watch as he goes from a carefree kid to an intense warrior fighting for his own philosophy. He was steadfast in his beliefs, seemingly set in stone. I liked him, but I disagreed with him. ...Of course, as time went on, some of his beliefs chafed away a bit, allowing for some more extreme/harsh methods of interrogation and other similar moral situations.

The anime has a lot of focus on the clash between Lelouch and Suzaku.

Sad and sulking. Psh. Source.
C.C. (シー・ツー). CC played a mixed role in the anime: almost ever-present, but rarely taking too much of the spotlight. This particular aspect somewhat annoyed me, as she didn't seem to have enough involvement (causing me to have extreme trouble attaching to her). Almost like the Shinigami in Death Note, only with a lot less screen time, she is the one who gave Lelouch his power and assists him in achieving his goal[s]. She didn't really care about her life, and this gave her a presence of not caring about anything/anyone. She always seemed to be moping about, blankly staring at walls and clutching fluffy animals. She didn't often say things that were profound, nor did I sense much (if any) affection towards Lelouch. While her role was vital in the storyline, I didn't like her.
I admit, she's pretty. Source.

CC gets some development, usually in brief spits/spouts. I only really liked one of her development arcs, which I fear I cannot say aloud (as it could be considered quite the spoiler), involving her acting very differently than every other development arc in the two seasons.

[warrior shout] Source.
Kallen Stadtfeld (カレン・シュタットフェルト). Kallen played a huge role in the anime, though occasionally she wouldn't get much screentime for a few eps as development was happening on other characters. While she's definitely fierce, she's also heavily reasonable, a quick thinker, and a great fighter. Her faith and trust in Zero(/Lelouch, sort of) is huge, and she very often pulls off heroic saves to get Zero out of trouble. We learn of her background, which was really quite sad, for me; her mother at one point is shown to be an abuser of a feel-good drug. She seemed very much human, and I very much attached to her.
See? What's not to like? Source.

Kallen had several development arcs, and each and every one of them brought me closer to her. Her development was very well-done, in that I noticed ten episodes into the anime that I really didn't want her to die / go away. For most anime characters, I'm on the knife's edge between affection and apathy, and I willingly choose either path; for Kallen, I steadily grew more and more attached without realizing it until I was already very attached. I loved her!

(Some) Minor Characters:

Naïve, but happy. Source.
Nunnally Lamperouge (ナナリー・ランペルージ ). There were large portions of the anime where Nunnally was a key character, and there were also large portions of the anime where she had little to no screen time (though she was still significant). Sister to Lelouch, she is blind and handicapped (has to be in a wheelchair). Nunnally is optimistic and sheltered, naïve and blind to the way some people manipulate her. She had a lot of development, and while I like her as a character, I didn't like her as a person. She was well thought-out, but not someone I'd get along with.

She can be really freaky. Source.
Nina Einstein (ニーナ・アインシュタイン). Nina was a really odd person. She was a genius, very talented and had a lot of ability. However, she was also emotionally (and probably mentally) unstable. Perhaps if those facets had been played up more, she'd have landed better; sadly, she did not land well. She played particular important roles in the story, but it felt like she was just bouncing from one role to the next, and the tiny pieces of development in-between roles did not allow her character to build. She had her moments, but there were also moments where she was involved where her actions went against all previous actions of hers. Her role was well thought-out, but her character was not, and I did not like her.

Just look at that smile. Source.
Shirley Fenette (シャーリー・フェネット). Shirley played a fascinating role in the anime, and I grew to adore her. While Lelouch is very popular among the ladies (though he wants nothing to do with them on a romantic or dating level), Shirley is special among his women-devotees. She's his friend, and her involvement in his life (and, occasionally far more importantly, his involvement in her life) leads to some serious character development for both Shirley and Lelouch. A few tears leaked from my eyes during Code Geass, and several of them happened in scenes where Shirley was involved. Her character was seriously well thought-out, and while one particular development leap was indeed a bit of a leap, it wasn't unrealistically so. Again: I adored her.

An interesting fellow. Source.
Kaname Ōgi (扇 要). Ōgi played a nice role in the anime, getting just the right amount of development. While his romantic interest development wasn't much, given that he isn't a major character, it was a fitting amount. Ōgi is a straightforward guy, fairly simplistic, and one who is unafraid to voice questions. He's not necessarily very intelligent, but he's no idiot, and he's a leader. Ōgi seemed human, and that was... "nice" is the best word I have.

Tamaki! Source.
Shinichirō Tamaki (玉城 真一郎). Tamaki didn't play a very large role in the anime, but he was perhaps one of the most realistic portions. Oftentimes we would see him enter a battle, and have his Knightmare/vehicle damaged by stray fire or malfunction, and he'd end up having to sit out the battle. Too often did things go well for main characters in the violent act of war, and Tamaki was my one smiling reminder of reality. I liked him!

~

While there are so many other characters (such as Princess Euphemia, Toudou, Orange, Lloyd, to name a few), you'll have to trust me when I say that they get their correct development. Or you can always watch the anime yourself!

(Wikipedia Source for Names)

Some wallpapers for characters:

Lelouch/Zero. Source.
Suzaku's got fans, huh? Source.
This is a nice wallpaper. Source.
B-E-A-utiful. Source.

Wolfe out.

5.2.14

Woodpecker- Sword of the Stranger

Evening folks! Woodpecker here, bringing you a review on the Sword of the Stranger. I found this animated movie to be very entertaining, yet very abrupt. It was one of those movies that left me saying, "I want more!" The movie itself, really stuck to the true physics of the world. Meaning things like weapon damage, limbs falling off, and realistic death/survival scenarios actually happened in the movie. This movie again, was a great watch and I wish they had a prequel to explain the past of the ronin that follows the main character.

Rating: 9/10

Overview:

This movie seems to take place before the modernization of Japan. I would say roughly early 1400's due to the fact that one of the bad guys in the movie carries an ancient musket. The only flaw I found in this particular movie, was the fact that the plot was not very explanatory on the ronin's past and his experiences. You do see brief glimpses and flash backs, but you never truly find out the connection between the ronin and his relationship between the bad guys.


Characters: +

Nanashi: He is the ronin that accompanies Kataro on his journey to the temple. As the movie progresses Nanashi and Kataro truly begin to bond, and Nanashi sees a new side to himself he never saw before.

Kataro: He is the young boy, and evidently the main character in this movie. Something about Kataro and his blood evidently holds the key to immortality. The Emperor knows of this and captures Kataro before Nanashi can come to the rescue.

Tobimaru: He is Kataro's dog in this film. Tobimaru is a very vital factor in this movie and was the catalyst that brought Nanashi and Kataro together, after he was poisoned by a Ming warrior.

Luo-Lang: This man is considered to be the major enemy for Nanashi in this movie. He is arrogant and lustful for power. He seeks an enemy as strong as him, so that he may defeat him and grow stronger, that is Nanashi.

Plot:

Essentially the story revolves around the young Kataro and his new adventure with the ronin Nanashi. After Tobimaru is poisoned by a Ming warrior, Nanashi helps Kataro save the young pup from his demise. Soon after Nanashi returns the boy to the temple, the monks give him up to the Emperors men in order to create and elixir of eternal life. Nanashi is forced to focus on what he truly wants to do, and if this cause is worthy to unsheathe his sinful blade to save Kataro.

Animation Style: +

For the age of this movie I felt that it definitely was well displayed. It had a lot of focus on the blood and fighting animation in the movie. Another thing that I particularly enjoyed about this movie, was the fact that the physics of the show were mostly accurate the whole time. Enemies did not fly back over 50 meters in one punch, nor did their bodies split in half after a 5 second delay of suspense. I was very pleased with how well they portrayed what the fight scenes in these animated films should look like.

Music: +

I was very pleased with this OST and I found the music very fitting to the scenes. It has one of the best final fight soundtracks I have listened to in a while, and I really felt like some passion was put into the music itself. While watching the movie listening to the final fight, I found that the song itself also drew some emotion out of me, in a kind of weird but not surprising way. I definitely give this OST a thumbs up!

Power-Balance/Believability: +

I found the power-balance to be very believable in this movie. Nanashi was barely able to fight off Luo-Lang, and their skills were very close in combat. You could tell that the animators spent a lot of time making this movie as realistic as they could. The kills made sense and were very realistic. I also found that character invincibility was not present in this movie. When Nanashi got his butt kicked you could see it affecting him later in the movie, it didn't just go away (like in most anime).

Wallpapers:

cartoon-excellence.com

cartoon-excellence.com

cartoon-excellence.com

cartoon-excellence.com

AMV's:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 


29.1.14

Woodpecker- Unbreakable Machine-Doll

Evening folks! Woodpecker back, with a review on the newly aired anime, "Unbreakable Machine-Doll". Sorry for the lack of reviews lately, I have been dealing with other work related topics and have been prying for time. With that, here is my review on Unbreakable Machine-Doll!

 As the Anime Head Brothers are trying to find a standard yet diverse way of reviewing, I believe this review will give you an idea of how mine will be set up from now on.

Rating: 7.5/10

Overview:

Though the rating may be deceiving, I felt as though the anime had potential, it just never truly took off. With lots of action packed punches and interesting/suggestive humor, the anime had it's good points, but totally lost its ground with progress. If they had gone farther into the plot with this anime, it definitely would have hit a high 9 with me on its rating.


www.mangapark.com

Plot: +

The whole anime is based around magic wielders. However, they are not your cliche fire blasters. Instead they have these beings known as Machine-Dolls that do their fighting for them. In this anime we have the young man Raishin and his "Banned" Doll Yaya fighting their way to the top of Walpurgis Royal Academy's fighting tournament. All to claim the title of "Wiseman", and defeat the man who haunts his past and took everything from him. In the anime, they have these things called "Banned" dolls. What these are, are automatons that are made with dark magic also containing human flesh to make them even more powerful. Yaya is one of these dolls.
www.marthaurion.com

Characters:+

Raishin Akabane: Raishin's past in this anime is very unclear for most of the episodes. He has a very dark past and has a amnesiac memory of fire and death. He is brave and very reckless. He is actually one of the very few characters I've seen reach the point of death so many times. To top it all off, his fighting name in the tournament, is "Second-Last".

Yaya: Yaya is Raishin's machine-doll. Not only is she completely obsessed with Raishin, she also is very clingy and sensitive to anything he says. Unfortunately for certain viewers, she has a very sexual mind, that very strongly irritates her master. She is however, the "most", powerful doll in the world.

Charlotte Belew: Also known as "Tyrant Rex", for her dragon automaton. She plays as Raishin's hinted love interest in this anime, however he seems to notice it as much as she does. She is of royal blood (In line for the throne), and a very powerful magic user.

Frey: She is also known as "Silent Roar", as she controls multiple hounds who have the ability to manipulate sound. She also has a strange interest in Raishin Shikabane, which he of course has no clue. She plays as one of the key characters in this main group.

Loki: Also known as "Sacred Blaze", he is a very powerful magic user, and is also Frey's brother. Him and Raishin have the very cliche relationship of, enemies at sight and friends at heart. They constantly nag at each other, and bicker over complete nonsense.

Magnus: He is the main "Bad Guy", in this anime. He owns multiple dolls that are considered elites in their class, and he is the top ranked magic user. In the first season, you never actually see him fight, but his dolls are very quick to defend him from Raishin as his temper is risen and the tension is strengthened.

Animation Style: +

www.youtube.com

The animation in this anime was very unique. It was very unlike any anime I have seen before. It was also the first anime I have seen use the 3-d animation in the first episode, and then never use it again. As for the quality itself, I found the uniqueness of the style actually made it every clear and interesting. I notice that they also paid a lot of attention to detail with things like fire, water, and shadows. These all had a lot of detail and really added to the anime and how it affected the way you perceived it.


Music: -

I felt like the music was pretty average. It had some of its good soundtracks, and it had some that did not really fit the part. Aside from that I don't have much to say about it.

Power Balance: +

The power balance is very accurate in this anime, as the main character is not miraculously saved by a hidden power that has not been revealed before. They definitely make sure that he is beaten up quite a bit in this anime and has a very consistent power setting.


Good power balance: +

Great original plot: +

Average music: -

Unique characters: +

AMV's:







Hey, click "older posts" to view more, or find reviews by particular reviewers from the top. Thanks! ~Wolfe