THE SERENE REVIEWS

To commemorate the beginning of this forum. I did a review for most recent anime I watched so here's my review for Black Lagoon.

A Serene Review of:
Black Lagoon

Black Lagoon is a twelve episode seinen anime made by my favorite anime company, Madhouse. It features the most violence, suggestive themes, guns, and swearing I’ve ever heard. In fact there was so much swearing I’ve learned a few new lines I’m implementing into my conversations because of it. Anyways The show came out in early 2006 and was considered a success. Based of the manga with the same name, that started getting serialized in the year 2002, it stays true to its roots.
To start off we shall talk about the characters. This anime has an entertaining sort of characters. First and foremost is the main character “Rock” or his real name Rokuro Okajima. He was kidnapped by the Black Lagoon crew and used for ransom after they raided a boat he was on. Eventually he was disowned by his boss and left 4 dead (no MaSu there is not Zombies in this anime). So he joined the crew of the Black Lagoon, though he doesn’t use a weapon, he is an excellent diplomat.
Then there is my favorite character EVER. Rebecca “Revy”. She is the sailor mouthed fighter in the group. When I say sailor mouthed I mean it, in all the lines I remember at least half of the ones from her had a swear in them. Such as my personal favorite, “limp-dick”. She is sadistic, sometimes going on a rampage killing everything that isn’t on her side, even people who don’t have a gun. She’s uses a pair of Beretta 92FS’s that were modified and engraved with the words “9mm Sword Cutlass” in a nod to Calico Jack (the captain of the Jolly Roger). She is my personal favorite because she’s violent, deadly, swears even worse than I do when you piss me off.
The other two characters of the group are Dutch, an ex-US Navy pilot and former Marine, his ship during the Vietnam war was none other than The Black Lagoon. Then there’s Benny, a college dropout from Florida, who is the groups mechanic.
The story is that off Rokuro Okajima, a businessman in Tokyo Japan. Who was sent out on a ship to deliver goods to a company somewhere else. The ship he is on get’s boarded by the Black Lagoon, and they decide to take him hostage and use him as ransom for extra money. Then during the course of the first two episodes he get’s disowned, and even told that to his family he is now dead. So he joins up with the Black Lagoon, and helps them with their adventures.
This is a seinen anime, meaning more darker themes then that of the Shounen counterpart, and more violent. In fact this anime is so violent it blew out the most violent show I’ve ever watched, Tokko, out of the water. Each episode has at least one firefight, if not two or three. If you liked other animes like this (for example: Dogs, as well as the show Dolls) then you shall like this.
There is a dub but I never bothered to check who was in it. So let me check now *checks brb limp dicks* okay right off the back. The voice actor for Rock is the same as actor for Light Yagami from Death Note, and Amuro Ray from Mobile Suit Gundam. Benny’s voice English voice actor is the same as Ryuk and Vegta sadly he doesn’t fight so you don’t’ get a chance to use an IT’S OVER 9000 line with him.
The music is excellently done and when used for the action scenes. Works perfectly, like a mexcians trying to jump the boarder. The opening for the anime is Red Fraction by Mell, which is excellent for all English song. The ending is good however, there is no vocals.
This is over the top action at its best. So if you like guns, guns, and nothing but guns. Watch this now IN FACT WHY ARE YOU STILL READING THIS DIPSTICK WATCH SHOW. However if you don’t like guns (pussy) don’t read this.

Here's the first ever anime movie review that I've done. So without further notice.

A Serene Review of:
Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0: You are [not] Alone

The TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion, released in Japan in the 90’s was a smash hit. Worthy of the praise that, I along with many other people who have watched, and reviewed the TV show it was given. I was excited when I first found out that they had created a series of movies that retold the entire series. Therefore, after a long hard look around, I found the first movie. So without further ado, my opinion on the first movie of the Rebuild of Evangelion series.
To start off, this movie covers the first six episodes of the series, ending right after the battle against, that giant cube angel that can dig and fire lasers. It covers the story of Shinji Ikari, an abandoned by his father after his mother died, becoming the pilot of Eva-01 a giant mechanized, semi-living, robot that moves around due to the thoughts of the person piloting the beast.
What I liked about this movie, is despite the fact that the movie came out almost twenty years after the series came out. Is the fact that most if not all of the voice actors that were in the TV series, are still in the movie. That touch makes it more like the original and not like just some remake that still holds somewhat true to the original.
The updated look and feel are a welcomed addition, like with the voices, still holding true to a good majority of how the show depicted the battles. However, it adds some new effects, some new shots, and some content that if I can recall, was not in the TV series. Such as the ending where the last Angel (Adam right [okay sue me I have not watched the show in 7 months I do not remember everything]). Is shown talking to one of the executives of Seele (I cannot spell that right) about Shinji’s progress. This additional scene just adds an extra bit of reason to continue watching the next movies, instead of watching just the TV show.
The other characters of the series still hold true to how they acted in the TV show, with Rei still being the most abnormal person that I’ve ever seen in an anime (with whom I consider a distant relative, Ayase from Chaos;HEAd being a close second). Shinji’s father whose name I could care less for, still does not acknowledge him, even during the part where Shinji is begging for help while battling the third angel that was shown in this movie. Misato still cares for Shinji more than his father does, which is just fucking sad.
However my main issue with this movie more than anything else that I can think off right now. Is the fact that I have to wait for the rest of them to come out? Watching the first one only leaves a bitter taste in your mouth that makes you scream for more. However, that issue will soon be fixed with the sequel, Evangelion 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, will be out on the 27th of this month. If you want to watch the dub of this, which was okay in its own right it will be out in fall of this year. Still having Rolo’s American voice actor, Spike Spencer, be the voice of Shinji, however Rei’s voice actor has changed. That doesn’t mean though that she will suck due to the fact that I’ve heard her work, Brina Palencia is the new voice actor for Rei in the Rebuild movie’s dub, but she’s done the silent role before, being Yin from Darker than Black.
If you have watched the series before, you should watch this right now, find a link and watch this show. If you do not you are depriving yourself of one of the greatest remakes of a TV series ever. If you have not watched, the show this still will be a good thing to watch due to the movie staying true to the TV show.

If you want to watch this movie now. Here's a direct link to the site I watched it from

Evangelion 1.0 link

Edit: The dub of the movie is to be out in the Summer of this year. Not the Fall.

Checking out Black Lagoon due to your review.

If this sucks I'm dubbing you more of a whore then Tres's mom.

TLS wrote:Checking out Black Lagoon due to your review.

If this sucks I'm dubbing you more of a whore then Tres's mom.

Thanks

I'll also be doing three reviews for the second season, one for each arc

A Serene Review of:
Black Lagoon: Second Barrage
First Arc of Three
Or the Murder Twins Arc

Okay due to Black Lagoon: Second Barrage, the sequel of my first review on this site. The Black Lagoon. Being a multiple arc twelve-episode series, I have decided to review each arch separately instead of all at once. Right now, I believe I made the right choice.
To start off the Murder Twins Arc as I like to call it, is the MOST BIZZARE, INCESTFULL, DISTURBING. Thing that I have ever watched in anime, worst than Tokko, worst that Chaos Head, worst than Elfin Lied, yes I just said that. This arc revolves around two young twins who are killers, hired by one of the factions within the main setting of the series. These two are fucked up, AND I MEAN IT.
Nevertheless, let us diverge from the fun part for now, all the characters that were in the first one are still back. Revy, Rock, Dutch, and Bernie are still here, but in this arc appear to take a back seat because it revolves around a war that could break out between the mafia groups in the city. This story mainly focuses on Hotel Moscow, the Russian mafia group of this series, made up of primarily ex-military members who were in the army when they invaded Afghanistan.
The Action is still as good as the first season, in fact to me, it only got better, more guns, more violence, and in fact, they upped the violence ante.
Okay back to the twins, as I said previously, these two are fucked up. They are faternal, and for all of you who cannot realize what that mean (TLS). That means they are of different sexes. They wear nothing but black, have silver white hair, and a blue and purple eyes, meaning one blue and one purple eye. What they do during this arc will be burnt into your mind with a burning stick, it is that disturbing. First off, to help conceal which one they really are, they change clothes, meaning that the guy wears female clothes fifty percent of the time or so. They can mimic each other’s voice, helping them mask which gender they really are. In addition, they kill people in the most bizarre ways.
The one in the male clothes uses an axe, yes an axe, to butcher people, which he/she does at least once in the series. The female one uses a rather large machine gun, to kill everyone including by standards. Occasionally they would leave on person alive but wounded. They would take them back to where they were located, AND FUCKING TORTURE THEM, the one time it happened in this anime, they stuck a flag somewhere on his face.
Diverging into their past, the head of hotel Moscow learns that these two were Romanian orphans of an ex-dictator. They were taken by someone who owns a porn shop, and force to partake in the filming of kiddie porn (Doom might like this part), at least 250 films. Then afterwards they were told to kill the person they were forced to have sex with, in the most bizarre way, thus helping them learn how to kill.
Seriously, this arc is nominated for the Serene Awards, that I shall be doing before the end of the summer. Probably July, late July. It will be put on, MOST FUCKED UP THING YET. If you like this kind of stuff, watch, if you liked the first season and expect it to be as action backed as the first one. Watch. However, DO NOT START WATCHING THE SERIES WITH THIS ARC (when I mean series I mean watch first season first).

Revy wrote:
Diverging into their past, the head of hotel Moscow learns that these two were Romanian orphans of an ex-dictator. They were taken by someone who owns a porn shop, and force to partake in the filming of kiddie porn (Doom might like this part), at least 250 films. Then afterwards they were told to kill the person they were forced to have sex with, in the most bizarre way, thus helping them learn how to kill..

WHAT.THE.FUCK.

Masu wrote:

Revy wrote:
Diverging into their past, the head of hotel Moscow learns that these two were Romanian orphans of an ex-dictator. They were taken by someone who owns a porn shop, and force to partake in the filming of kiddie porn (Doom might like this part), at least 250 films. Then afterwards they were told to kill the person they were forced to have sex with, in the most bizarre way, thus helping them learn how to kill..

WHAT.THE.FUCK.

My brain has died....

Rozencrutz wrote:

Masu wrote:

Revy wrote:
Diverging into their past, the head of hotel Moscow learns that these two were Romanian orphans of an ex-dictator. They were taken by someone who owns a porn shop, and force to partake in the filming of kiddie porn (Doom might like this part), at least 250 films. Then afterwards they were told to kill the person they were forced to have sex with, in the most bizarre way, thus helping them learn how to kill..

WHAT.THE.FUCK.

My brain has died....

Oops hit the edit button instead of the quote button

But anyways yeah I agree, I sat here for three hours trying to get that out of my mind. It so ruined the names Hanzel and Gretel

Revy wrote:

Rozencrutz wrote:

Masu wrote:

Revy wrote:
Diverging into their past, the head of hotel Moscow learns that these two were Romanian orphans of an ex-dictator. They were taken by someone who owns a porn shop, and force to partake in the filming of kiddie porn (Doom might like this part), at least 250 films. Then afterwards they were told to kill the person they were forced to have sex with, in the most bizarre way, thus helping them learn how to kill..

WHAT.THE.FUCK.

My brain has died....

Oops hit the edit button instead of the quote button

But anyways yeah I agree, I sat here for three hours trying to get that out of my mind. It so ruined the names Hanzel and Gretel

Is that supposed to be a play on "Hansel and Gretel"?

Masu wrote:

Revy wrote:

Rozencrutz wrote:

Masu wrote:

Revy wrote:
Diverging into their past, the head of hotel Moscow learns that these two were Romanian orphans of an ex-dictator. They were taken by someone who owns a porn shop, and force to partake in the filming of kiddie porn (Doom might like this part), at least 250 films. Then afterwards they were told to kill the person they were forced to have sex with, in the most bizarre way, thus helping them learn how to kill..

WHAT.THE.FUCK.

My brain has died....

Oops hit the edit button instead of the quote button

But anyways yeah I agree, I sat here for three hours trying to get that out of my mind. It so ruined the names Hanzel and Gretel

Is that supposed to be a play on "Hansel and Gretel"?

Actually that's what I was wanting to say because. Those names were the names they were forced to use during the 250 porn videos

Okay here's the second arc review (however this one is short)

A Serene Review of:
Black Lagoon: Second Barrage
Greenback Jane Arc
Second out of three

Okay like with the Murder Twins Arc (which was unbelievably disturbing). I shall be doing a review for the second Arc, the Greenback Jane arc. This arc revolves around a counterfeit moneymaker, named Jane (hence Greenback Jane) running from previous employers because they gave her two days to finish a job before being killed.
This is more violent and action packed than the murder twins, with the use of explosives, flamethrowers, and more guns than the entire UNSC arsenal. There is a complete two-episode firefight, which starts at a dock, then ends on the Black Lagoon ship.
The main characters this time around are Revy, Rock, and Eda, a nun from the church of violence. Which means she is good with a gun, in fact the first firefight of this arc is at the church, and one of the new member’s uses, a machine gun, while the head of the church uses a gun that blows up a car. So trust me, that church earned its name.
The side that was having Jane makes the counterfeit money hires about every mercenary under red sun to help capture her. This includes an Asian chick who uses swords, a fat person who uses a flamethrower. In addition, my personal favorite of this arc, a bitch who got her throat slit, lived, but can only speak with a microphone. She uses a chain saw to fight. It’s shown that she is a butcher, using the chain saw to cut people she was told to kill, to ribbons, but into a crate, and shipped. Utterly disturbing, but nothing in comparison of the Murder Twins Arc.
All in all this is a short review, not because of the fact it sucked, but because of the fact, almost this entire arc was focused on fighting. If you like it, go ahead watch it, if you do not, oh well, go suck a dick pussy.

The Serene Review will be doing a three review special in two days.

Here's a list

1. The last arc of Second Barrage
2. Phantom: The Animation
3. A special Surprise

Okay fuck the first two reviews I'm going to be doing my special surprise review

A Serene Review of:
Romeo X Juliet
Vintage: April 4th 2007 to September 26th 2007

Okay, before any part of this review is said. I must say this, deal with me here; I was out of options and watched this. Romeo X Juliet is a 24-episode adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, by adaptation, I mean; they use the character’s names that are about it. It is so loosely based off the play that it is hanging by a thread.
Anyways, my first thing I have to say is that this was one of the best surprises of an anime that I have ever watched. Seriously, I was expecting more Shakespeare quotes that you could shake a hat at. However, that was never to even be the case. There no quotes, only the characters names that are the same, with some new people in the anime here and there.
First off is the story, but before I can start that I have to give some changes in it from the play. Capulet’s are the heads of the floating continent of Neo Verona. Montague’s are just simple nobles, who have nothing to do with the Capulet’s in the form of a long off feud. To the story itself, Lord Montague attacks the castle of the Capulet’s on a snowy day fourteen years before the start of the anime, killing every member of the royal family except for Juliet who is forced into hiding for the next 14 years by being forced to cross dress. However, I must say this, the use of her cross-dressing is brief but I liked the fact that it was a nod to the fact that there were cross-dressing in some of Shakespeare plays.
Juliet eventually falls in love with (this shouldn’t surprise you) Romeo, who after his father takes over the crown, leads Neo Verona into a dark age where everything is slowly dying. However, the rich and the nobles are still able to lead their expensive life styles.
All the main characters of the play are here, well save Juliet’s parents because they died. Mercurtio is now a person who believes that Lord Montague is a great person. Tybalt could be considered, the Volke of this anime; however, I cannot accurately that description. He hides around the city of Neo Verona, and collects information from everyone, sometimes paying people to let him hide when the heat gets hot. However, he is an excellent sword fighter with two knives.
There a Shakespeare nods like I like my cookies, bountiful. However, the biggest and most memorable is the addition of the playwright character, William, who dresses like Shakespeare. He gives advice about love to Juliet and eventually uses her tale of love with Romeo to write an amazing play.
Overall, the ending is what you would expect since it is an adaptation. The characters are memorable, and this is the best use of both Shounen action, and Shoujo romance and character development I have seen since Vampire Knight. This can be considered the best of both worlds for male and females, the romance will attract some, while the others will like the themes of revenge, and sword fighting will hook the male audience. This is one of the best animes that I have ever watched, and is the biggest surprise of an anime that I have seen in my history. Anyone who liked Vampire Knight, or liked the original adaptation of Romeo and Juliet will like this. However, if you can’t stand love stories, and cross dressing females. You might have to stay away.

Dub and other information
The Dub for this is expected to be released in two days from today (the 21st of June) most of the voice actors in this I do not know since I never heard of them however the voice actor for Juliet in the dub also did Yin from Darker than Black so I guess at least there’s one star in there.
The opening and ending themes are okay, however the first ending Cyclone by 12012 was amazing, in fact it was the best surprise I have had so far this month. However, the only opening did not really agree with me, but it did at least fit the anime. The second ending sucked balls in my opinion.


Also This is a formal announcement for the first biannual Serene Awards topic. The nominations shall be posted sometimes in the next couple days. Where I will post how this will work as well

Today shall be the preview, and mid review special for five animes that have started or are to come out eventually.

A Serene Review:
The Preview special

Typically I write reviews for anime’s generally praising them, since they are the ones that I typically find enjoyable. Today instead I feel different, today I am going to be giving brief bio’s of animes I am watching, or going to watch when they come out sometime.
First up is Phantom Requiem for the Phantom, this is based off of the game Phantom of the Inferno, the first game ever made by visual novel maker Nitroplus, creator’s of the Chaos Head line of games and anime. This was the only anime I could watch during the Spring season of anime due to the fact it was the only dark one there, since the remainder of the list was filled with such crap as The Melencholy of what’s that bitches name second season, and a bunch of happy go luck shows. Phantom however is dark, violent, and focuses on story telling more than Fan service (queen’s blade) or humor. If you liked Black Lagoon, you have to start watching this, 15 episodes are subbed with a 16th to be subbed tomorrow most likely.
Speaking of Black Lagoon, the third installment in the Madhouse anime series. Has been confirmed to be an OVA which kinda ruins it, since I was expecting a 13 ep show like the last two series. But since it’s still going to be done under the same heads that did the first two, it should still stay true to the Black Lagoon formula.
Third and foremost, Canaan, the only anime that I am currently watching of this season. It’s a 13 episode show that feels similar to Phantom in the aspect that it features a bunch of girls carrying guns and shooting people dead. In fact the first episode had a fair share of head shots and blood. It apparently follows the events of a visual novel released for the Wii in Japan, called 428, which was one of two games that Famatsu the main review company in Japan for video games, gave a perfect score for on the Nintendo Wii. The first two episodes are subbed, and the third should be subbed Monday, Canaan is broadcasted every Saturday.
Next up is Darker than Black’s second season, Darker than Black Ryuusei no Gemini, which translated probably means Darker than Black: Prosperity of the Twins. There hasn’t been much info on this new installment into the series except for the fact that it probably will follow the events after the first season, meaning that it should follow Hei and Yin. Expect the new season of Darker than Black out in October of this year.
Finally is the finale to the Shikabane hime series, the special 13th episode of Shikabane hime Kuro. The 12th episode and finale of the regular anime run ended on a cliff hanger, so expect this to either finish the season and gear up for a third, or end the series itself. The special drops the fifth of August.

No updates since I haven't had the time or the ablity to watch any anime outside of Phantom Requiem for the Phantom, but since that's wrapping up in 2 weeks I shall be having that review done. Also I plan on reviewing the two animes that I watched with interest last Fall, Cashern Sins and Chaos Head (again with the last one). So expect 2-3 possibly more reviews in the next month since I've started writing again

My first review in what can be seen as 3 months, and it was worth the wait.



Now I must say first that I have only been watching anime on a somewhat normal basis for two years. Even watching the seasonal animes for the past year. I have seen great anime in the form of Tokko, Black Lagoon, and Casshern Sins but I have never seen such a greatly made, executed and developed anime like Phantom Requiem for the Phantom.
To start off, Phantom is a 26 episode anime that is based of Phantom of Inferno, the first visual novel made by Nitroplus, the company that made the Chaos Head series of games. The series focuses on Reiji something or other, a tourist from Japan (of all places I know) who get’s sucked into the underground world of assassins, and mafia’s. He is to be trained into a Phantom, a form of assassin that has no equal. Which is where we get introduced into the first of three female lead character’s, Ein, the first Phantom designed.
By designed I mean by the character that at first I hate, and then eventually think is the most bizarre bad ass I have ever seen in an anime. Scythe Master, the creator of the Phantom process, who turned Ein into the Phantom and thus in turn made Zwei (Reiji). At first he comes across as a pedophile (more on that in a bit) then later on he shows himself as a thinking, and powerful man who knows what his Phantoms can do.
Then there are the other two female leads, Claudia McCunnen (I think), who at first is Scythe’s superior and somewhat disapproves of the idea of erasing the memories of the Phantoms, she’s as cunning as she is beautiful, and does what she needs to get what she wants. Then there is Cal Devens, a young girl (and the only real tie to a cute anime in the sense that she looks like an loli) who witnesses the murder of members of Inferno, and her older sister Judy, at the hands of a professional assassin. Cal is person who starts out as something I would want to kill myself for watching but in the end turns out to be one of the memorable characters due to the fact she brings much needed adrenaline in when she appears at the last third of the anime after the last time warp.
This anime is divided into three distinct parts, which vary in length, the longest being the first and shortest being the last. After the first two parts there is a recap episode with additional clips added to give a better view as to what is happening. Each part is based of a part in the visual novel and from what I can guess it follows whatever plot line they chose to follow decently.
Beetrain the studio that directed this project, did one of the best jobs I have ever seen in an anime. The design gives the show a dark feel with a movie style quality to it, the music is excellently composed and when they want to transition to one or the other without a pause they did it fluidly, chosing a slow song for a sad scene and before you know it bam they use an intense track for a firefight without missin a beat. Ali Project, a group who generally does opening and endings for Beetrain and Kokia did one opening and one ending apiece, and all four of them were excellent. Another sign of great development is the overall appearance of Reiji during the show, at first he seems like a normal kid but as it progresses and he get’s deeper into the underground, his features change to be more rough and dark. My last sign is the fact that most animes or shows won’t use more than 2 costume changes, this one uses as many as it can, I think there are at least 3 possibly 4 outfits that Reiji uses as he main costume.
For those of you who watched Black Lagoon and expect over the top fights 24/7 you will be disappointed. Phantom does have some over the top fights, but not in the scale or quanity of Black Lagoon. However when there is a fight it get’s hyped up and just puts you more ready to see it. This anime instead focuses on story telling more than action much like the typical Seinen anime does, at points it seems slow and dragged out but later on you will be thankful it is. The majority of the main characters get decent backstory and at least answers some questions about people, such as “why did Claudia decide to join Inferno”. It makes it so that you can see why they chose the actions they do better.
This by far was the most engrossing anime I have ever watched. You know an anime is engrossing when just a couple minutes after a fight scene that occurred you still find yourself at the edge of your seat watching a photo shoot of Ein posed in the nude with the parts of her body that can’t be seen on tv without getting yelled at by dummies. Even the diailouge pulls you into the story for the majority of it’s use.
There are a couple things that might throw you into hating this (or just you won’t like). First is the fact that despite the action scenes are excellently done and feel realistic, they don’t use them as heavily as they should or they don’t draw out a battle more (specifically one in episode 25). Then my biggest hate in this show is Why the hell out you put an loli in a seinen anime, that’s like putting a convicted rapiest character in lucky star, it might work but it just feels so out of place it won’t make much sense. The finally there is the fact that it starts off slow, with the first three episodes being training ones and filling in some back story since the show starts right out the gates with little to none.
Overall if you have not seen this anime and liked animes like Darker than Black, Black Lagoon, or Casshern Sins, I highly neigh I demand you give this at least the 5 episode look (watch the first five episodes and if you don’t like it stop). However if you like your anime cute and cuddley, or with excessive show of force, you won’t like this much though if you are the latter of the two you might like it.
For my first score I give this an incomplete 10 in the sense that this anime does not get it’s finale till the 30th of this month. But for what has been released so far makes for an anime that is in a class of itself and could potentially set itself up to be new precident in anime dealing with assassins and underground organizations.

Other info:
American distributor Funimation picked up rights to post this anime on their video site late March. So the possibility of an Dub (though it might be the worse thing for this) or a release of the sub could be possible in a year or so. The cast is filled with people you may or may not know if you’ve watched subs long enough, Claudia is voiced by someone who did a main or important character in all three of beetrain’s girls with guns anime’s (noir, Madlax and something else), as well as be Sailor Mercury, and Judith in ToV. Ironically Lizzie Garland’s voice actor is the other more noticeable person. Being Viletta from Code Geass, and getting the role of Lightning in FFXIII.

Edit: After seeing the finale of Phantom Requiem for the Phantom I must say that at first I wasn't very happy with what happened, but since I watched the RAW I made sure to keep my final verdict out of this review till I saw the sub. After watching the sub my opinion changed, it fits nicely, a sad ending with a question mark after what started out as a plot driven, question infused, dark anime. Phantom is by far one of my favorites, possibly even my clear and distinct favorite but however I still do not think it deserves a perfect ten, I think a 9.8 would work but not a ten, the two recap episodes, one offering some new info, while the second one was told the part at the perspective of the loli character and had NO NEW INFO.

Next review:
Fall anime Special

Fall anime of 2009

Now last fall was the first season that I watched anime on a weekly basis. Introduced me to classics such as Casshern Sins, and Chaos Head. Now one year later I am pleased to do a brief little special describing some of the animes that I will watch, or I question.


Based of a Light Novel by a similar name. The only reason why I started keeping track of this anime is because one of my favorite Japanese Groups Ali Project will be sininging the opening. It's about a world were books are crystalised forms of the dead. Tonisu is ordered to kill a powerful armed librarian after getting his mind erased and a bomb planted in his chest. He fails to and get's swept up in a battle with the library.
Why I am watching this: After seeing the second promo video which can be found on ANN. It looked good, kinda had a mix of Darker than Black and Claymore in a sense. Also as I stated Ali Project is the OP artist. Then there is the cast, it's filled with unknowns but there is one person there that I want to see. Miyu Irino has been confirmed as a main voice actor and was the person who did Zwei/Reiji in Phantom.

Darker than Black was a favorite of mine, mixing the gritty feel of Seinen anime with the action of a Shounen anime. This time around it seems to be more of the former. They brought back all the components that made it good to start off, a new op from ABS, and continuing what happened after the first Darker Than Black. If you want to have more backstory, go to one manag and find the new Darker than Black Manga they have there.

Okay based of a manga by the same name apparently, it's about this dude who hates cats, who wants to date this chick who does. He get's into trouble with a cat god and is forced to grant 100 wishes to cats or else he get's turned into one. Now why am I watching this, for this one and sole reason, Yui Sakakibara my favorite Jpop singer is in the cast and is singing the op.

Based of a Visual novel, about six peopple who get sucked into an alternate world and have to get out. Now why will I try to watch this, because it looks okay

Based of a manga, it's about this dude who one day wakes up to find out that he's been turned into a chick for the reason to participate in Kampfer battles with other girls. Which just makes me want to throw up but i might throw up quickly. Then again nothing will ever be as bad as The Melancholy of that dumb bitch


Armed Librarians: Book of Bantorra: October Second, new ep every Friday

Darker Than Black 2: October 8 new ep every Thursday.

Nyan Koi, Kampfer, and 11 eyes: First of October new ep every Thursday.

Subs for all of these should be out on the Sunday after they are released, Darker Than Black might be monday