Good Movie, Bad Print

Unfortunately this Blu-ray release tried to cram the movie, a Dolby True HD and DTS HD MA track onto a BD25 and the result is excessive banding in the image.

Fullmetal returns

I have been looking forward to seeing this film since I finished watching the series earlier this year and Conqueror of Shamballa more than lives up to my expectations. The film begins a couple of years after the end of the series with Ed still stuck in Germany between the World Wars. In the time between the series and the film Ed has befriended Alphonse Heiderich, the doppelganger of his brother Al, and has been working on the science of rocketry. Meanwhile back in Ed's own world Al has been studying Alchemy all the while looking for his lost brother.

This film is a great follow-on from the excellent Fullmetal Alchemist series and if anything outdoes its parent series in animation, story and excitement. Although the film is slightly more serious than the series there are is still the odd comic moment to brake up the drama. The animation is great, as would be expected, and I liked the choice of using more muted tones to represent this world compared to the brighter tones of Ed's world. Conqueror of Shamballa is a great way to rap up the Fullmetal Alchemist series and although anyone new to the series should watch that before attempting to understand this film, any true fan of the series will love it.

Complex Universe... x100

Plot: 8.5/10

Rich in detail and very complex. The idea of different universes existing for every choice, with the you in that universe going down a different path, is truly fascinating.

I have to mark it down a little because of the slow pacing and unexplained elements of the story. However, I'm sure someone who has a better understanding of quantum physics would add 0.5 to this rating.

Characters: 9.7/10

Watching the main characters develop in Noein is different than in any other anime I've watched. You see how they *possibly* look and act in the future throughout the show (sometimes even more than one possible future version), which creates thoughts and shows the characters from different angles.

My favourite characters were not the main two (Haruka and Yuu), my favourites instead being Ai and Isami. It's both funny and cute seeing them try to hide their feelings for each other as the series progresses, Ai being a fiery red/orange-head and Isami being your average male - Unable to pick-up on signals. Isami's character is probably my favourite due to the future versions of him shown.

The only real bad character point I can think of is Yuu's character - He gets quite annoying with his attitude. The annoyance is worsened by slow plot progression.

Art: 9.5/10
Animation: 9.5/10

I can't rate art and animation accurately since I know nothing about it.

Noein looked amazing and fairly unique to me from the moment I first saw it. The start of the show showed that it obviously had quite a big budget, combining CG with excellent art and animation. The show kept up the high quality visuals until the end, although the less important episodes didn't get the attention the more important ones did.

Sound: 9/10

I'm probably being quite harsh here - The soundtrack is outstanding. The the choral battle/action music really gets you excited, the dramatic music does its job, the cute/funny music is fun to listen to... It's all great. My only reason for not rating higher is because there aren't too many tracks I'd want to listen to when not watching the series.

Total: 9.2/10

All in all, an amazing series. This is a series every anime fan should watch.

Saccharin Introverted Pubescent Drivel with Pictures

Ok lets list some anime conventions; insipid male leads with about as much personality as a bowl of rice, all the female characters are snivelling drips, banal supporting cast, glorious childhood memories, some promise or other that needs fulfilment and dialogue that would make a Furby wince etc etc. Behold"The Place Promised in our Early Days" delivering each in spades. The animation is very well done but is"over done" with every scene seeped in sepias, moonlight etc which I found soon got tiresome. The sci-fi plot is a strange mix of quantum mechanical dream state mumbo jumbo and parallel universes; which while rather silly (sorry all you parapsychologists) is at least quasi-interesting. The musak is dreadful fluffy garbage. I think this would have made a good silent animated short. If you want to watch a five star anime rent"Night on the Galactic Railroad".

"go team sea slug!"

after buying this for christmas i thought id have a try at reveiwing it. azumanga daioh is the anime adapted from the manga by kiyohiko azuma. the story follows the lives of 6 school girls as they make there way through high school.

theres cat fanatic (Sakaki) day dreamer (Ayumu Kasuga A.K.A Osaka) hyperactive student(tomo-chan) smart girl (yomi-chan) and a 10 year old prodigy (chiyo-chan). the story follows the girls in a 3 year format spreading from there first day up to graduation day. there is very little continuous plot and each episode is very much singular.

the music for this anime is one of the first items that grabbed me as most of the tracks are quite mellow and easy listening.

this box set compiles 6 discs containing all 26 episodes including a short film. also included in this boxset is a neat 10 page booklet explaining character bio's & translation notes. theres also a very nice pencil and pad branded with the azumanga logo. all of this is wrapped up in a neat boxset with a wonderful slip case on the front.

in my opinion this is a wonderful boxset that made me feel nostalgic and gave me an all over warm hearted feeling. it doesn't go over the top in humor like some of the other anime out there but it doesn't override the viewer with warm hearted goo-goo. an excellent buy definitely recommended

HOLY SH...

sky blue is an effective combination of cgi and animation (i think, its really hard to tell) the quality of the artwork is fantastic and sometimes i had to pause the film just so i could try to take it all in.
The story line is a rather good one, but don't expect all your questions to be answered at the end of the film. the basic story is that most of the worlds population has died, due to humanity damaging the earth (luckly they do'nt go into any hippy rubbish about recyling). the sky is always filled with clouds, the main character wants clear 'sky blue' hence the title. a city called echo-ban was created where people live weathy happy lives, outside the city live the 'diggers' who work for echoban, live in poverty, are looked down upon and very important: are very unhappy with the current state of affairs.
i feel i have to comment on the music for this, i didn't realsie till half way through but the soundtrack is really good! its classical, not my usual thing, and it fits every scene perfectly.
i highly recommend buying sky blue, especially since its just a few quid

EXTRAORDINARY PORTRAYAL OF AN ORDINARY LIFE....ANOTHER STUDIO GHIBLI TRIUMPH!!!

My neighbors the yamadas portrays suburban middle class life as it is in Japan or any other part of the globe for that matter. Directed by Isao takahata, this experimental studio ghibli film is unlike any of their previous films. A collection of short vignettes, showing everyday life of yamadas family, My neighbors the yamadas wears a newspaper comic strip look. It lacks all the usual detail, fine lines and photorealistic backgrounds of other ghibli films without losing any depth or appeal. Digitally achieved watercolor wash look works just fine for the style of the film and makes it visually striking and different from any other work studio has ever done.

My neighbors the yamadas is filled with humor, satire, grief and quite possibly everything else a middle class experiences. Everyday life incidents you can relate to and situations you can identify with, mentioning any of which here, may spoil the fun for those who havent seen the film.

Lets look at the dvd now. My neighbors the yamadas happens to be the only studio ghibli film released by disney as a single disc dvd. Presented in anamorphic widescreen, picture quality of the disc looks absolutely crisp and flawless and so is the sound. As usual, both English and Japanese tracks, rendered in dolby digital 5.1 are available on the disc. English dub featuring the voices of Jim belushi, Molly shannon and others doesnt disappoint and is quite decent. Bonus features include a"behind the microphone" featurette (approx 6 minutes) showing the english dubbing process and original trailers and tv spots which run a little more than 15 minutes. Fans of rough animation would be delighted to see the first trailer, which shows one complete segment from the film in line drawings without any colors filled. Movie has been rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Only disappointing thing, few may find, about this disc is the storyboards. Unlike all previous ghibli releases, there's no entire storyboard version of the film here. Instead, for some strange reason, it is a gallery of tiny sketches which you cant even enlarge. Inspite of it all, a worthwhile disc and a great buy too, just for the main feature itself.

With an experimental film like my neighbors the yamadas, studio ghibli has once again proved how versatile their artists are and how simple, yet unusual and globally appealing, their choice of subjects could be. My neighbors the yamadas is a simple and beautiful, fun-filled film without any sugarcoating or modern day formulas.

A great disc to watch and own.

Reveiw

I think this has to be well up there with the other hayao miyazaki films like spirited away,its a film you can sit and watch with all the family everything is there to make this a brillant release action,love,drama.

From the outset it just looks like another tall country tale but you get draged into it and you are asoberd by the film and storyline of it.
definatly worth a watch, if you like the other studio ghjib films.

Amazing!

I have not yet Purchased this on DVD, but by watching it on Toonami, I think it's amazing! The new Pokemon included give it a better Zing. All the new CGI in it make it much better aswell. I woulld love to buy it but lack the money.

A GOOD COUPLE OF HOURS OF PEACE & QUIET

We brought this DVD at Christmas for our 7-year old Pokemon fanatic. His review was that"I loved it!". We thought that the dvd represented excellent value and just as important provided us with a nice hour or so of post-Christmas lunch peace and quiet.

hmm

well it is hard hold the psp for ages and the film is more of a dvd video so i think you should get it on dvd video its based after the final fantasy game two years later

Great movie, but...

I have nothing to had to the preview reviews, except the fact that this version doesn't have the original Japonese language option. The US voices are ok, but nothing compares to the original Japonese voices. Ence the 3 stars rate for the DVD release. The movie itself gets a 4 stars rate.

How big an anime fan are you?

I bought this recently and thought kool ... lets give it a whirl and lil peek to see how it is ... mmm .... i fell asleep (seriously) about half way through the first one, the action was so on and off all the time and the story plot i found the first time through ... you were like ... what the hell .... if this is all about karas (who are the protectors of citys, each one has there own)then why the hell is a demon killing its own kind? ... and didn't karas just get its arms sliced off?!

Anyway the first one ... graphics pretty kool, action when there is some is great and as i said its a lil on off how you follow it through ... i've watched karas about three times since and the more i watch it the more i seem to like it but hey ... i'm just odd lmao

K Karas 2 rockz ... i mean this is fast paced, hard core and the fight scenes are great ... in regards to the demons and Karas, the art work is great and they look how they oughta look ... i could not stop watching this and the build up to the end was quite a twist .... to become a karas the main charcter hasto choose if he is will to sacrifice all to save the many and he does the decision in style.

This double pack, thats what i bought, has its ups and downs but def is worth a watch and the bigger an anime fan you are ... i think personaly, the more you will get outta it.

One of the worst films I have seen in my life...

Much as I am loathe to attach such a harsh label to a pokemon movie this paltry-at-best offering deserves no defence. The story line is far too predictable and bumbles along in a dull and incoherent way throughout. The concept of time travel has not at all been approached with any originality, and left me feeling irate rather than pensive. It was, in fact, so terrible I couldn’t bear to let it soil my DVD shelf: as soon as the movie ended I was trying to think of who might want to take the thing off my hands. To top it all off, celebi is a whiny pokemon with no popular appeal whatsoever.

This movie was a sad dissapoinment and let down to all the other aspects of pokemon that have made it over the years a most fascinating and rewarding craze.

Interesting but not essential

The first thing that attracted me to this series was a picture in a magazine, of Shuji clutching his girlfriend Chise, who had a lot of metal spikes coming out of her back. It's a really striking image, and there are lots of scenes in this that will stay with you for a long time.
She, The Ultimate Weapon (which can also translate as My Girlfriend, The Ultimate Weapon) is the story of Shuji and his girlfriend Chise, who becomes a military experiment as their"ultimate weapon". But, despite some action scenes, the story mainly focuses on their relationship. Although it starts fairly dull, the story soon becomes really interesting, and I found myself caring a lot for what happened to the characters.
Speaking of the characters, they are all fairly interesting but also believable. Apart from Chise's modifications all the characters are just like real life individuals, and although all sorts of extreme things happen (they are in the middle of a war, after all) they always react in a believable way. Some of the later scenes are really moving, and quite shocking as well.
The art style in this show has me divided. On the one hand it has beautiful backgrounds and a great use of colour, but the character design annoys me quite a bit. Although not very different to stereotypical large-eyed, small-nosed characters, I just don't like the way that their faces are drawn. Perhaps this seems a little trivial but it did affect my enjoyment of the series.
However, I think that the music might just make up for this; this series has some fantastic pieces. Sometimes I even rewound the episode to listen to certain pieces again. Overall the music is probably my favourite part of this series.
Whilst I have been mostly positive so far- and indeed, this is a good series- I have to say that it's not for everyone. There are lots (and I mean LOTS) of scenes with Chise crying or feeling useless. Whilst it is understandable that she would feel this way, there is a point where it just gets a little too annoying. Teen angst is all well and good but this series does overdo it quite a bit.
Also included in this boxset is the Another Love Song OVA. If you've seen the series this is definitely worth a look, as it shows us something of what Chise experienced when she was with the military (the series focuses on her and Shuji).
Overall, a great series that is well worth your time, but if you're wanting an anime about a reluctant teenager saving the world whilst dealing with personal issues, Neon Genesis Evangelion ought to be your first port of call before this.

Three amazing short films from true legends of the genre

I'm still pretty new to this wide new world of anime, so I can't really compare Memories to other works in the genre. I can say that it is a most interesting and impressive production made up of three very different short films from some of the leading names in anime. I don't think the visuals are quite as dazzling as that of more recent anime films, but the artistry of these three episodes certainly does help define the very different worlds in which the action takes place and demonstrates the compelling, visceral powers of anime. We have the celebrated Katsuhiro Otomo to thank for this project; each of the three films, if I'm not mistaken, was adapted from a short manga piece in Otomo's graphic novel Memories.

Episode One is Magnetic Rose, directed by Koji Morimoto of Animatrix fame. This is a beautiful, haunting tale of a most unusual space rescue mission. The crew of a space garbage collection ship responds to a distress signal from a dead part of space. Two crew members board the debris-shrouded vessel and enter a completely different world, one fueled by the memories of a beautiful young opera singer who apparently retreated to the isolation of space following a tragedy in her life. I won't pretend to have understood every thing about this story, but it is wholly captivating. The men encounter lavish rooms including opera houses and living quarters fit for a princess, holograms and other visual artifacts of"the young Madam" Eva entertaining guests and audiences, and decayed artifacts that sometimes come to life in front of their eyes. Each man is soon drawn into the vivid, colorful world of Eva's memories, but only one recognizes the unreality behind the vivid scenes he encounters - in his case, though, memories of his own wife and child serve as fuel for the increasingly realistic episodes he experiences. Much of the story takes place to a soundtrack of beautiful opera music such as that of Puccini, and the combination of such grand music and the amazing visual miracles that define anime of the highest caliber make this a most powerful film indeed.

Episode Two, Stink Bomb from director Tensai Okamura, goes in a completely different direction. Existing in some nebulous space between dark comedy and grim political satire, Stink Bomb is certainly entertaining but much less powerful than the other two films. In this story, a young scientific researcher takes an experimental fever pill that turns out to be something else entirely. He awakes to find everyone in the building comatose or dead (it's never really clear to me), and panicked company executives order him to find the pills and the secret documentation related to them so that he can bring everything to them in Tokyo immediately. He does just that, but he comes across death and destruction everywhere he goes. He does not understand that he has become a biological weapon emanating deadly gas from within his own body. It's almost comical to see the military firepower brought to bear - quite fruitlessly - against him as the military seeks to stop the spread of the noxious gas. The ending is also somewhat comical, on a dark level.

The last and shortest of the films comes from Katsuhiro Otomo himself. Cannon Fodder is an extremely dark film that vividly portrays a day in the life of a militaristic society along the lines of a post-modern day Prussia (i.e., pointy helmets are big in this world) dedicated solely and completely to the continued firing of gigantic cannons against some nebulous enemy. The obvious interpretation is one of the insanity of warfare, and the dark tones and grimly drawn characters bring the message home in a powerful fashion. Interestingly, the entire action seems to consist of one continuous shot that moves fluidly from one scene to another.

Memories dates back to 1995, but it is certainly an impressive example of anime's unique strengths and possibilities. The music, I should mention, plays an integral role in each film, especially Magnetic Rose - I think this DVD is worth owning just for this first amazing film alone. Otomo, Morimoto, and Okamuro are the same masters of anime who gave the world such wonders as Akira, Animatrix, and Ghost in the Shell, so anime newbies can rest assured that Memories will not disappoint.