RazorFine Review

• Title: Appleseed: Ex Machina
• IMDB: link

About three weeks ago I brought forth the anime about a stunning young woman and her cyborg partner.  Both Appleseed and the sequel Appleseed Ex Machina are done in beautiful CG animation, making the films badass characters look even more badass as they flip around in combat.  The story sort of takes off with the same idea as last time, the two main characters, Deunan Knute and Briareous the cyborg, combating against evil to keep their Utopian society.

The story isn’t so plain and straight forward, the villain is different this time and there is a twist.  The team, Deunan and Briareous are split up!  That doesn’t sound like much of a twist without the knowledge of her new partner.  Briareous is one of a kind, well that is until they made Tereus.

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• Title: Appleseed
• IMDB: link

Deunan Knute, the main character of Appleseed, has had a less-than-normal life.  As a legendary female soldier, and survivor of the Third World War, you could say she is something close to badass.  She is the main reason that I enjoyed this anime, not for the twist, or the CG animation, but for the hardcore female badass.  Usually with anime there is the alpha male and the weakling little girl who screams, cries and flashes her panties.  Now, not all are like that, Noir is about two badass girls, Aeon Flux has another badass lady, but for some reason I could never get through Noir’s entire series box.  As for Aeon Flux, I just could not stand the dreadful artwork, sorry to say, but it sucks.

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• Title: Parumu no Ki
• IMDB: link

A Tree of Palme is basically a futuristic Pinocchio tale.  Just like the Disney movie, a small wooden puppet with the name of Palme ventures out into the world to become more humanly.

Palme was originally created to care for the creator’s ailing wife Xian.  When a mysterious woman named Koram, who turns out to be a ghost, gives him the Egg of Touto he vows to protect it.  Koram entrusts little Palme with a big mission to deliver the egg to Tama, the world below.

After attempting to pay attention for 30 minutes I ended up shutting it off.  It moved too slow for me, and it was just too weird.  I was hoping when I picked this one out that it would be good, but I couldn’t even watch it.  The story may have been too slow and too dry for me, but the animation is beautiful.  So sorry for the insanely short review this time, hopefully next week I’ll pick out a good movie or series that I will actually pay attention to.  The one star is for the sheer beauty in the animation by the way.

• Title: Porco Rosso
• IMDB: link

Who said pigs can’t fly?  Porco Rosso is about a guy who was once a WWI ace fighter pilot that is now cursed to have the face of a pig for the rest of his life.  Porco, also known as Marco, began his life as a handsome fighter pilot for the Italian Air Force.

When he and his comrades were flying through enemy territory, they found themselves in the midst of a battle.  Fighter planes flying everywhere, shooting left and right and everyone except Porco was gunned down.  Porco was struck down but when he awoke, he found his plane flying by itself.  The plane rose up through the clouds to reveal a white band of planes overhead.  The planes were fallen seaplane pilots on their way to heaven.  When Porco looked to the side of him, he noticed his good friend Bellini and he called out to him but was unheard.  Bellini had just married a girl named Gina before they left for the war, and when he was flying up towards the band of pilots Porco told him that he can’t leave her alone.  After that point, he began flying for himself.  He took his seaplane and left.

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• Title: Tokyo Godfathers
• IMDB: link

It’s funny how a child can bring people closer together, and pull them from the depths of desperation.  In the movie Tokyo Godfathers, by the same person of Paprika and Millennium Actress, three homeless friends happen to be in the right place at the right time.

One Christmas eve, the three friends were digging through some trash for presents for one another when they discovered an abandoned infant.  The child was crying, cold and hungry, so the three did the right thing and took it in for the night.

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After nearly 50 episodes of following the characters in the Orphen series around, I would have to say that I connected really well with them.  Connecting with the characters is something I really enjoy, so I am glad that I was able to do that in both series.  No, there are not 50 episodes in Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge, but there are 23.  The other 24 came with the first series I reviewed, Orphen. 

Orphen: The Revenge
4 & 1/2 Stars

After nearly 50 episodes of following the characters in the Orphen series around, I would have to say that I connected really well with them.  Connecting with the characters is something I really enjoy, so I am glad that I was able to do that in both series.  No, there are not 50 episodes in Sorcerous Stabber Orphen: Revenge, but there are 23.  The other 24 came with the first series I reviewed, Orphen.

The Orphen series involve epic adventures, villains and one stud who has a bad temper.  Well I just described nearly every anime ever created, but this has two things some animes lack: deep revenge mixed with a little suspense that continues the entire 23 episodes, the other part that it is missing is a love interest.  I cannot tell you how sick of the side stories of girls loving the hero I am.  Sometimes I accept the love stories like Inuyasha and Kagome or Sousuke and Chidori, but other times it is just ridiculous. 

This series sort of picks up where the last one left off, but you hardly need background information on it.  The characters carry over from the first series, but you learn all about them in this series.  The original gang started with Orphen and Majic, and then they added Cleao who found Leki the wolven cub.  I know that is all a little confusing, but it gets better when they add Licorice and Pam her floating companion.

Licorice is a young and innocent girl who starts out following the gang trying to get help.  She finally is able to talk to Orphen and the others about why she needs his help but that is a couple episodes in.  She says she is from a branch of the government in her town and she needs to take him back to her town since he is such a great sorcerer.  When he refuses, Licorice says that it is her duty to watch over him until he changes his mind and comes with her.

With the new additions to the team, they set off on a whirlwind adventure involving two obvious themes: revenge and magic, but it also has monsters, sacrifices and death.  So, if that is what you are into, then this will be a treat for your eyes and ears!

This is my second series with these characters and let me tell you that I loved this one just as much as the last.  This one has monsters instead of a dragon, which makes it more fun, because you never know what is going to attack next.  For some strange and fantastic reason the writers do really well with the twists throughout the whole series.  I was shocked by the involvement of Licorice and Pam; you will have to watch to figure out why.  Artistically it is appealing, but the dubbed script needs work, I know I said that in the last review too.  One thing I thought was funny was every time Orphen uses his magic the scene goes all “Sailor Moon” on you and takes an extra 5 seconds before the battle continues.

Have you ever watched something and it left you wanting more?  Well, Blood: The Last Vampire did that to me in the worst sort of way.  This anime starts off with a pretty decent beginning full of suspense and sword slinging action ending with pools of blood.

Blood: The Last Vampire
2 Stars

Have you ever watched something and it left you wanting more?  Well, Blood: The Last Vampire did that to me in the worst sort of way.  This anime starts off with a pretty decent beginning full of suspense and sword slinging action ending with pools of blood.

With a main character like Saya, not much can happen in the story that she does not already know or will not take care of.  Saya reminds me of another character named Balsa from Guardian of the Sacred Spirit, an anime I reviewed a few months back.  Coincidentally, Blood: The Last Vampire and Guardian of the Sacred Spirit are linked by Kenji Kamiyama, he wrote B: TLV and directed GotSS.  Saya is another one of those girl power characters, but her lack of friendly speech makes her less like the other weaker Japanese school girl personas, who basically only exist for comic relief.  Saya is part of a secretive government branch that tracks and destroys these monsters they refer to as Chiropteras.  For those who haven’t seen Blood+, read Jeff’s review or watched this movie before, Chiropteras are demons that feed off human blood.

After you get the gist of what the movie is in the first 5 minutes, it delves into the story and does not stop the action until the end.  Forty minutes of watching Saya track and attack more Chiropteras, the movie is over.  Granted the entire film is only 45 or so minutes, but I didn’t think it would be a wham-bam thank you ma’am sort of thing.  I mean I feel like I just had a good first date with an awesome guy and he decided not to call or text the next day.  Awfully disappointing, even with its beautiful animation.  I clearly could have spent my hour more wisely by heading to the mall and throwing away a few hundred dollars on some much needed shopping, but that wouldn’t have geared me up to watch the series.  Now, Blood+ has already been reviewed, so go check that out here.

My apologies for the extremely short review this time around, but there wasn’t much to rave about, or rant for that matter.

A rogue sorcerer named Orphen, on a mission to save his friend Azalie, becomes a teacher himself when he takes on an apprentice named Majic.

A young and beautiful girl named Cleao Everlasting coems home from boarding school to live with her mother and sister for the summer holidays.

Majutsushi Orphen Mubouhen
4 & 1/2 Stars

A rogue sorcerer named Orphen, on a mission to save his friend Azalie, becomes a teacher himself when he takes on an apprentice named Majic.

A young and beautiful girl named Cleao Everlasting coems home from boarding school to live with her mother and sister for the summer holidays.

Cleao thought she was going to have another quiet summer back at her family’s mansion, but she was dead wrong.  It’s a coincidence that Cleao’s path crosses with Orphen and Majic, but they do have something in common.  Cleao’s father bought her an old sword for her 15th birthday, but what they did not know is that that very sword is magical, the magical sword of Baltanders.

Long ago Orphen was known as Krylancelo Finrandi, and his friend and mentor Azalie was not a dragon.  Azalie became obsessed, even power hungry, with having more power.  She learned of the sword of Baltanders, but even obsessive studies did not give her the knowledge of how to properly use the ancient artifact.  Azalie used the sword which started her path towards The Bloody August, a dragon with immense powers.

Orphen has been chasing The Bloody August for five long years before he met his companions Majic and Cleao.  The three of them go on an epic adventure to save Azalie and encounter stone assassins, old friends, ex-masters and a wolven cub named Leki who Cleao adopts.  The ex-masters of Orphen are working against him, or so he thinks.

The last five or so episodes are such a twist, that I cannot reveal the ending.  I was sold on the first five or so episodes, then the filler for 15 episodes got old, but I understood it was building on the story and allowing other characters to come in the adventure to tie up the ending.  The last five episodes were fantastic.  The ending is what really made the series worth watching.  I watched it dubbed, and got stuck watching one subbed some how, and thoroughly enjoyed the subbed version, so I recommend that.

Character development was decent, you pretty much get a feel for everyone right off the bat, but relationships flower, you start to hope one works, and the other does not.  The anime deals with backstabbing, killing dolls, dragons, sorcery, betrayal, a hidden love and sex changes.  Odd mix of things in this, but it keeps you on your toes.

I went on a vampire movie kick this weekend, you know, the good ones, Frank Coppola’s Dracula, Nosferatu [1922] and Interview with the Vampire.  Finally, on Sunday, I spent a great deal of time frantically searching for an anime to watch and I stumbled upon this one.  Here’s to mayhem and sucking blood, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.  I have to say that this put a damper on my stay-in-bed-cause-I’m-sick weekend movie mash, but it nonetheless was a pretty decent flick in its own right.

Banpaia hantâ D
4 & 1/2 Stars

I went on a vampire movie kick this weekend, you know, the good ones, Frank Coppola’s Dracula, Nosferatu [1922] and Interview with the Vampire.  Finally, on Sunday, I spent a great deal of time frantically searching for an anime to watch and I stumbled upon this one.  Here’s to mayhem and sucking blood, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.  I have to say that this put a damper on my stay-in-bed-cause-I’m-sick weekend movie mash, but it nonetheless was a pretty decent flick in its own right.

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust is set a few thousand years in the future.  Vampires once ruled the night, but that was years before the fearless bounty hunters succeeded in diminishing their numbers.  D is one of those audacious bounty hunters, and his competition is the Markus brothers, a group of rough and tough guys and a girl.

When Charlotte, the daughter of a rich family, is taken from her home by the vampire Meier Link, her father contacts both D and the Markus brothers to retrieve her.  The two battle it out and race to save her before Meier Link turns her into a vampire, even if that isn’t Meier Link’s intentions.  As the heroes follow along their journey, fighting Meier’s hired guards and getting passed Carmilla, they finally begin to suspect that Charlotte may have gone willingly.

D, even though he is out numbered, still has a huge advantage over the Markus brothers.  D is a dhampir, the product of a vampire and a human, his father is Count Dracula.  Being Dracula’s son has its rewards for instance, D has super human abilities and he doesn’t age.  Nevertheless, with benefits, there is always a downside, dhampires cannot handle too much sunlight, and a lot of people shun him for being related to a vampire.

Carmilla ends up being the true villain in the film, only using Meier Link and Charlotte as pawns for her master plan.  Many years ago D’s father imprisoned Carmilla’s spirit to the Castle of Chaythe after her bloodlust got the best of her.  She intends to steal Charlotte’s body once the couple reaches the castle in search of a still-functional ship that will take them away from the castle.  You will have to watch this flick to get the rest of its juicy details.

It took me the entire time I wrote this review to come up with an excuse of why I didn’t like the movie as much as other vampire movies, I was disappointed, but that’s probably because I watched so many vampire movies before this one.  The only disappointing part about the entire film is that there is no blood sucking involved, so that’s why it gets a 4.5 out of 5.  Blood sucking is such a huge part to vampirism, and I didn’t notice it was lacking it until I got to thinking.  I knew I was disappointed once the credits rolled, I just couldn’t put my finger on it.  Talking about it, and almost doing it do not count as blood sucking, so don’t even try that.

Other than that, the film is good, well written, well drawn and the dubbed version is not bad.  It is worth watching for anime and or vampire fans, either way it is appealing.